Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Jerusalem have accused the Israeli Military of killing two Christian Palestinian girls who had been allegedly shot by Israeli snipers on the Holy Household Parish complicated in Gaza on Saturday morning. The IDF mentioned that there was an ongoing firefight within the neighborhood of the church, with RPGs being fired at IDF troops. Sky Information host Piers Morgan questioned senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mark Regev, who insisted, “We must await the results of the investigation.”
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa said on Saturday morning that “around noon” on Dec. 16, a sniper of the IDF “murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families has taken refuge since the start of the war.” A number of others had been additionally shot, the assertion mentioned.
“No warning was given, no notification was provided,” the patriarchate mentioned. “They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents.”
With out ready for the official investigation, Pope Francis on Sunday referred to as the alleged assault”terrorism”, claiming that “unarmed civilians” had been focused by the IDF
“I continue receiving very serious and sad news about Gaza,” the pope mentioned on the finish of the Angelus prayer. “A mom and her daughter… had been killed and different individuals had been wounded by the shooters.
“This has happened even within the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities,” the pope added. “Some are saying ‘this is terrorism and war,’” the pontiff mentioned. “Yes, it is war, it is terrorism… let us pray to the Lord for peace,” he added.
The IDF mentioned on Tuesday that the preliminary evaluation of the incident “found that on December 17th, in the early afternoon, Hamas terrorists launched a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) at IDF troops from the vicinity of the church. The troops then identified three people in the vicinity, operating as spotters for Hamas by guiding their attacks in the direction of the IDF troops. In response, our troops fired towards the spotters and hits were identified.”
“While this incident occurred in the area where the two women were reportedly killed, the reports received do not match the conclusion of our initial review which found that the IDF troops were targeting spotters in enemy lookouts. We are continuing our examination of the incident,” the assertion added.
“The IDF takes claims of strikes on sensitive sites very seriously, especially churches that are the holy sites for the Christian faith. The IDF directs its operations against the Hamas terrorist organization and not against civilians, regardless of their religious affiliation.”
“The IDF takes many measures to mitigate harm to civilians in the Gaza Strip. These efforts stand in contrast to Hamas that does everything in its power to endanger civilians and exploits them, as well as religious sites, as human shields for their terrorist activities,” the IDF mentioned.
Israel later got here out and mentioned they weren’t working in that space on the time of the taking pictures.
It’s “great” information protection for the journalists and information pundits to assert the Catholic Church, the Holy Household Parish in Gaza is underneath hearth from @IDF and that two girls had been killed. BUT the IDF weren’t working in that space final Saturday.
So had been they killed and if that’s the case, by whom? pic.twitter.com/M1x71e7dlq
— James J. Marlow (@James_J_Marlow) December 19, 2023
