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Two Christian Women Killed in Gaza Strike
Confirmed
In Short: Two Christian women were killed in an Israeli strike on a residential apartment in Gaza City.
Two Christian women were killed early on Oct. 3 in an Israeli strike on a residential apartment in western Gaza City, according to Palestinian and Church sources.
George Anton, the director of operations for the Latin Patriarchate in Gaza, said the two women had recently moved into a rented apartment after staying at Holy Family Catholic Church throughout the war.
Anton stated that the apartment was struck early on Oct. 3, killing both women.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, in a statement of mourning, expressed his profound sorrow and grief over the deaths of the two women.
The women had served parishioners and displaced people at a shelter affiliated with the Holy Family Church in Gaza, according to a Palestinian official who oversees church affairs.
Shireen Awwad, a Gaza native who lives in Bethlehem, told Christian Daily International that local Gazans say there was a pursuit of a wanted Palestinian.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post on X that it and the Israel Security Agency carried out the strike 'in an attempt to eliminate the terrorist Ali Ahmed Al-Amoudi, the deputy chairman of the political bureau in Hamas in Gaza.'
The IDF said Al-Amoudi served as Yahya Sinwar's right-hand man and personal assistant and 'was involved in the decision-making surrounding the October 7th Massacre.'
The funeral service for Maysa Daoud and her daughter, Marie, is being held at the Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza following their deaths in the Israeli strike.
The Patriarchate said, 'With pain and sorrow, and in the hope of the Resurrection, we pray for the repose of the souls of Maysa and Mary, asking the Lord to grant them rest where all pain, sorrow, and sighing have fled away, and to bestow patience and consolation upon their family.'
What's confirmed
- Two Christian women were killed early on Oct. 3 in an Israeli strike on a residential apartment in western Gaza City, according to Palestinian and Church sources.
- In a statement to ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, George Anton, the director of operations for the Latin Patriarchate in Gaza, said the two women had stayed at Holy Family Catholic Church throughout the war before recently moving into a rented apartment in an effort to resume a more stable life after months of displacement and sheltering at the church.
- Anton said the apartment was struck early on Oct. 3, killing both women.
- In a statement of mourning issued by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa expressed his “profound sorrow and grief” over the deaths of the two women in the strike on Gaza City.
- Anton pointed to figures recently cited by Pizzaballa showing a sharp decline in Gaza’s Christian population since the outbreak of the war, as members of the community have either died or left the Gaza Strip.
- In September, Pizzaballa said the number of Christians remaining in Gaza — Catholics and Orthodox combined — had fallen to 541, down from 1,017 before the war.
- The two women had reportedly stayed at Holy Family Catholic Church before moving into the apartment where the strike was carried out.
- The women had recently moved into the apartment after spending a prolonged period sheltering at Holy Family Catholic Church during the ongoing war.
- The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.
- Pizzaballa in the statement offered his condolences to their families and to Gaza’s Christian community, praying that God would grant their loved ones consolation and strength during the painful time.
- Porphyrius in Gaza also mourned the two women and offered condolences to the Abu Dawoud, Ayyad, and al-Najjar families.
What's still developing
- Khoury said the Christian community in Gaza has always been an integral part of the Palestinian people, steadfast in its attachment to its land, faith and presence despite the most grueling circumstances.
- "We are Muslims, and these are our Christian brethren, who are not involved in anything; they are peaceful people, and everybody loves them, and now we pulled out their bodies, a mother and her daughter," he added.
- The strike came during a ceasefire that has been in effect since October 2025.
- "This is happening every day to us; it is not safe. One sleeps at night and does not know if he will wake up in the morning or not; we woke up, we woke up," he said.
- "Today, Al-Amoudi is the most senior Hamas figure in Gaza and is directly involved in Hamas' terror activities and in rebuilding the organization for war," the statement said.
- "This is yet another example of Hamas' cynical use of civilians as human shields to advance terrorist activities," it said.