Pope： ＂This is war and this is terrorism.＂
According to Vatican News and CNN, the official news websites of the Holy See, on December 17, local time, Pope Francis condemned Israel’s bombing and sniper of "unarmed civilians" in Gaza during a prayer activity, and said that "this is war and this is terrorism".
According to reports, Francis called for an end to the war in Gaza in his prayers, and especially prayed for Christians hiding in the Catholic parish of Sagrada Familia in Gaza. On December 16th, Israel attacked the area, and an Israeli sniper was accused of killing Nahida Khalil Anton and samar, a mother and daughter who had taken refuge in Sagrada Familia Church. Since the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, most Christian families in Gaza have taken refuge here.
The Patriarchate of Latin Rites in Jerusalem issued a statement saying that when the gunfire rang, the mother and daughter were walking from Sagrada Familia Church to the convent of nuns. "One of them was killed while trying to take the other to safety". The Patriarchate oversees the Catholic Church in Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
The statement said that the Israeli sniper also shot and wounded seven other people who tried to protect other people in the church. "(The Israeli army) did not issue any warning or provide any notice. They were shot in cold blood in the parish, where there were no combatants."
On December 17th, Pope Francis delivered a speech at a prayer service/AFP.
"I continue to receive very serious and painful news from Gaza," Francis said in a prayer activity on the 17th. "Unarmed people have become targets of bombing and sniper attacks. This happened in the Sagrada Familia church building area, where there are no’ terrorists’, only families, children, patients, disabled people and nuns."
Francis also mentioned the attack on Mother Teresa’s monastery in this area. According to the statement of the Latin Ritual Patriarchate in Jerusalem, shells fired by Israeli tanks hit the monastery, destroying the generator and fuel supply of the building and making a building accommodating 54 disabled people uninhabitable.
In response to the destruction and casualties caused by the Israeli army in the region, Francis said: "Some people say:’ This is terrorism, this is war’, yes, this is war, this is terrorism."
This is not the first time Francis has used the word "terrorism" in this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict. According to Reuters’s previous report, on November 22nd, after meeting with the families of Israeli detainees and Palestinians with families in Gaza, Francis said, "What happened here has transcended war, this is not war, this is terrorism".
Francis’s remarks at that time were criticized by many Jewish groups, including the American Jewish Committee (AJC). These Jewish groups believe that Francis’s remarks jointly condemn both sides of the conflict and accuse them of confusing Israel’s "self-defense" with the "aggression" of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
In 2020, a man decorated a Christmas tree in Sagrada Familia parish in Gaza/AFP
The IDF denied the allegations that civilians were killed or injured in Sagrada Familia Church. According to the Washington Post, the Israeli army issued a statement on the 17th, saying that "no reports of attacks on churches or civilian casualties have been received", and "the review of the investigation results of IDF operations supports this point".
Issa Antoun, a relative of the deceased, described the scene when his mother and sister were attacked to the Washington Post. He said that after the mother and daughter left, screams came from the courtyard of the church.
"We immediately ran out and saw that my sister was hit by a sniper’s bullet below her ear. She fell face down on the ground, and my mother was lying on her back a few meters away, "Issa Antong described." We rushed to save her, and snipers opened fire on us, injuring my two children. "
He added, "This is not the first time that the church has been attacked since the beginning of the war, but the sixth time." "As I speak, bulldozers are closing the door of the church and blocking it with a bunch of cars in the street."
Layla Moran, a British parliamentarian, also said that her family was one of hundreds of civilians trapped in Sagrada Familia Church. As the situation continued to deteriorate, her family faced "extreme despair and fear". Moran said that her family can’t get water or food, "there are still a few days before death" and "I’m not sure if they can live to Christmas".
Moran also said that his family reported that the courtyard of the church was attacked by "white phosphorus bombs and bullets", and the garbage collector and janitor had been shot. "The body is lying outside and no one has cleaned it up so far."
According to data released by the health department of the Gaza Strip in Palestine on the 18th, since the outbreak of a new round of conflict between Palestine and Israel on October 7th, Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have caused 19,453 Palestinian deaths and more than 52,000 injuries.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of Observer. It cannot be reproduced without authorization.
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