Israeli Sniper Kills Two Women Taking Shelter at Gaza Church

Two women who had fled to a church in Gaza for refuge were killed there "in cold blood" by an Israeli sniper, Catholic officials said. The women were mother and daughter, the Washington Post reports. They were shot without warning while walking to a convent in the complex, "where there are no belligerents," a statement said, adding, "One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety." Seven people were wounded while trying to shield others, said the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which presides over Catholic churches in Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, per CNN.

The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately comment. Most Christian families in Gaza have gone to Holy Family Parish for safety during the Israel-Hamas war, the patriarchate said. The convent houses 54 disabled people, according to the statement, which added that building's electrical systems and water tanks were destroyed by IDF rockets. The convent now is uninhabitable, the statement said. A UK lawmaker told the BBC that she has relatives among the hundreds of civilians trapped in the church. Without food or water, Layla Moran said, they're "days away from dying." The patriarchate identified the women killed only by their first names: Nahida and Samar, her daughter. (More Israel-Hamas war stories.)