Yesterday there was an air/drone strike in Beirut, Lebanon. One of the senior Hamas officials, Saleh Al Arouri, the Head of the Foreign Bureau, as well as four other high level officials were killed. Israel is once again on the highest alerts, not only from Hizbulla in Lebanon or Syria, but from the Jordanian border in the East and from within Judaea & Samaria (the West Bank).

Acting on verifiable information of another imminent massacre, the IDF uncovered a wide swath of hidden terror tunnels underneath homes and mosques in Hebron. Hebron has a very small Orthodox Jewish neighborhood surrounded by Arab Muslims. The name of this West Bank City between Jerusalem and Beersheva might sound familiar. It is the place where the patriarch of the Jewish faith, Abraham, bought a huge cave from Ephraim the Hittite. Over 4000 years ago he purchased this burial site for himself, his wife Sarah, his son Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. They are all buried there. It is very holy to Judaism. The tunnels led into the Jewish neighborhood as well as out into the Judaea landscape towards outlying villages. Many were stockpiled with weapons.

Today’s post is one I’ve been working on for over three weeks. It’s a story of mishandling on every level by almost every party involved. Despite deep digging and interviews, combing over phone transcripts and conducting surveys, there are still holes in the story. I’ve published in two separate outlets, getting both relevant questions and vile ‘anti-Zionist’/anti-Semitic diatribes in the comments sections. I’m sure this will be no different.

I was first asked to cover this story and to give my opinion on the shooting of two Latin Catholic Palestinian women taking refuge at a church in Gaza. I was given the opportunity as an Israeli Jewish woman with Catholic connections, IDF connections, a nose for a good scoop and ability to do some sleuthing, to do some damage control before the story was fully investigated. The best way to cover this is to put forth a timeline. I will try not to opine, just state facts. There still remain holes, so….

Friday morning, December 15, 2023: news broke that the IDF shot three of their own. Three young men, Israeli hostages, were trying to escape Hamas captivity in Gaza. There had been intense fighting in the Shejaiya neighborhood of eastern Gaza City. Several times prior, Hamas had tried to lure Israeli soldiers into a trap by broadcasting the sounds of a crying baby or of someone yelling “Help me!” in Hebrew. Children were being used as spotters for the terrorists. The soldiers were on heightened alert when they saw two of the shirtless men emerging from a partially bombed-out building holding a white flag. There was a banner hanging from a window in English and Hebrew “SOS” “Help!” “Hostages” Thinking it was a ruse, the battalion fired on and killed all thee hostages, the third still inside the building.

It was reported at once. The entire country was reeling in shock and horror. One of the mothers of the slain forgave the troops who were too quick to shoot. It was a national incident. An immediate investigation was opened. The entire army was immediately taken to task, lectured on the rules of engagement, on the purity of arms. The members of the unit that shot the hostages were court-martialled and put in military detention. When in doubt, when your life is not in immediate danger, do not shoot. Do not aim your gun threateningly or punishingly. Do not fire on civilians or civilian targets.

There were 3 churches in the Shejaiya residential neighborhood of Northern Gaza. It was a mixed Christian and Muslim area surrounding a Latin Catholic, a Greek Orthodox and a small Baptist Church. At the onset of the war, even before a ground incursion began, the IDF notified all civilians to leave. They did this by dropping 7 million leaflets; making over 3 million text messages and 5 million direct robocalls in Arabic. Maps were given of two escape routes to the south, a main route and later, a coastal route.

After it was determined that Hamas operatives were bombing the main route south and shooting at their own refugees, the IDF provided a safe pages using tanks to shield the escapees. Two weeks were given to evacuate all those who heeded the warnings. Many people did leave at the time. Many were being held as human shields. Christian families, including women and elderly, were rightfully afraid that they would be killed by the Muslims if they tried to escape of if they presented themselves at refugee camps.

Before 7 October, there were an estimated 1100 Christians of different denominations living in Gaza. By December 16, it is believed that approximately 530 Christians were taking refuge in the Holy Family Catholic Church and convent; about 300 in the Greek Church stayed behind, and 53 at the Deir al Bala complex. Heavy house to house combat had raged in the proximity 12-15 December. By the 15th the Israeli Defense Forces declared that part of the neighborhood fairly secured. Weapons had been confiscated, entrances to terror tunnels sealed or blown up. The army was moving to the next neighbors.

The Christians sheltering in place had been receiving supplies from Aid to the Churches in Need and Catholic Relief Services according to an administrator at the Latin Patriarchate offices in Jerusalem. A separate humanitarian aid project led by Joel Rosenberg’s team from All Israel News/All Arab News was being attempted. He stated, “They fear leaving the three churches they are in lest they be accidentally shot or bombed by the IDF, or purposefully shot by Hamas snipers who have been opening fire on many Palestinians trying to flee south, out of Gaza City. Both Israeli civilian and military leaders – including those in the war cabinet and the security cabinet – have been informed and are having internal discussions regarding the crisis facing the Christians holed up in the three churches in Gaza City.”

The IDF makes regular breaks or pauses to assess the situations of each of the areas where there has been or will be fighting. Reviews are made of communication transmissions, battalion movements, casualties, terrorist, civilian or hostage developments. It was during one of those pauses on the 11th of December that a UN team tried to get a shipment of aid to the Christians in need. That night the driver of the truck was shot by Hamas snipers and critically wounded. The entire contents of the container was then raided by the militants before it could ever get to its destination in the Shejaiya neighborhood.

According to IDF accounts, Israel was finally able to completely secure the area around the churches in order to let aid come through. The IDF has absolutely no intention of targeting civilians, especially Christians. Churches are considered heritage sites. Deliberately firing on Christians would potentially create an international incident, especially the week before Christmas.

Saturday, 16 December: the IDF receives a call from Fr Gabriel Romanelli of the Holy Family Parish reporting that explosions were heard in the immediate vicinity of the church complex. “During the dialogue between the IDF and representatives of the community, no reports of a hit on the church, nor civilians being injured or killed, were raised. A review of the IDF’s operational findings support this.” – IDF spokesperson, Daniel Hagari. The IDF expressed concerns to the parish official that it takes such reports with the utmost seriousness. It is reported that a water storage unit on the premises has taken a hit and is inoperable. There are no further mentions of any damages or casualties.

Saturday evening, 16 December, 6pm. A letter is issued from the office of the Latin Patriarch, newly ordained Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. It appears on Twitter and Facebook, and is picked up by Reuters and the AP as well as AlJazeera and the BBC.

“A sniper of the IDF murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families have taken refuge since the start of the war… Nahida and her daughter Samar were shot and killed as they walked to the Sister’s Convent. One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,” he claimed.

“No warning was given, no notification was provided,” the statement continued. “They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents.”

Sunday morning, 17 December, The Vatican: During his weekly Angelus address, Pope Francis expounds on the shooting as related to him by the Patriarchate.”Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire. And 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, sisters…Some are saying, ‘This is terrorism and war.’ Yes, it is war, it is terrorism.”

Monday morning, 18 December, Israeli government spokesperson, Tal Heinrich, stated that a thorough investigation has been made of the events leading up to through after the entire situation. Nothing was found to corroborate the official statements by the church. Two women who were walking in the courtyard of the church, Nahida Anton and her daughter Samar were struck and killed by sniper fire. There were no IDF troops in the immediate vicinity at the time. The gunshots could have come from Hamas operatives, but that was unclear.

“The IDF has conducted no fighting around that area. The IDF talked to representatives of the Christian community — it was not something that was brought up in the conversation.

“We looked into it — even when the truth is the most inconvenient thing to acknowledge, we admit it, as was the case with the three hostages who were mistakenly shot.”

The IDF considered the case completely closed by the end of Sunday. No further investigation or statements would be issued. This was a gross mistake on behalf of the IDF for many reasons. There are 1.2 billion Catholics in the world. It was the week before one of the holiest and oldest celebrations in Christendom. This story had the potential to and did go viral immediately. If the IDF had nothing to hide or proof they did not do this, there should have been more damage control. I don’t think they realized how big or how important this story would be.

The Latin Patriarchate supervises not only the Catholic Church in Israel, but also in Jordan (a huge, Muslim ruled country with over 2 million Palestinian refugees who have not been given citizenship). It also oversees the churches in Cypress and the Palestinian controlled territories in the West Bank. Because the Catholics in these territories are surrounded by Islamists, many are Muslim sympathizers. It is just a fact. I have personally interviewed many Christians from East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank (Nablus, Tayibe) and have noted a strong anti-Israel bias.

The two stories- from the IDF and from the Latin Patriarchate- are not lining up. I am in no way denying the tragedy of the two women who were killed. I want to know the facts. The IDF was too quick to examine and make a final , definitive report. His Eminence Pizzaballa was too quick and too emotional to report the basic facts. From whom did he receive his information and could it be verified?

Sunday evening, Israeli time 17 December, The United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued a statement on the matter:

President of the USCCB Most Rev. Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services Issued a statement pleading for peace:

At this holy time of Advent in anticipation of the birth of the Prince of Peace, it is with great sadness and horror that we continue to witness the death and destruction of innocent people in the land of Our Lord’s birth. Such violence must not continue. Following the mistaken killing of Israeli hostages and now, the killing of two Christian women and the wounding of others inside Holy Family Parish in Gaza, we call for an immediate cessation of all hostilities, the release of hostages, and for earnest negotiations towards a peaceful resolution of this conflict.

By the next day, Monday, several Catholic news agencies including Crux, Aletaea, CatholicVote and LifeSiteNews among others had picked up the news and run with it. Headlines included

By the end of the day multiple news agencies including the MSM…Axios, BBC, NPR, the Guardian were reporting that 3 Israeli rockets were fired from Israeli tanks directly at the church and convent. Scores of people were injured. The convent was deemed a total loss with at least 57 disabled persons without respirators who were unable to escape. There were reports that the convent was believed to have housed a Hamas rocket launcher and that the two women killed might have been spotters. Rumors abounded.

If there was adequate damage control early on – as after the missile misfiring that landed on a Gaza hospital (falsely attributed to an IDF direct strike)- the story might not have gotten so out of hand. As it turns out, there were no IDF tanks anywhere in the immediate area at the time of the report. It was later clarified that a generator at the convent of the Missionaries of Charity was hit by an RPG (notoriously used by Hamas and PIJ). The generator caught fire and quickly spread to the convent causing damage that was extensive but did not destroy the entire structure nor any other buildings that were part of the complex.

In an interview on that Sunday, Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See Raphael Schutz said:

Schutz: First, I would say that as an overall principle, all victims since October 7 are victims of Hamas, because Hamas is the entity that ignited the war with their brutal attack on Israel. What Israel does is conduct a war of self-defense with the aim at the end of the day to make the Gaza Strip and also other areas of Israel safe and secure for our population, which is not the situation right now.

Coming to this tragic incident of the two women who were shot and killed, I would say that tragedies like that are part of a war. One day before this happened, this happened on a Saturday, and on Friday IDF forces by mistake killed three of the hostages who managed to run away and try to surrender but were perceived as Hamas and were shot and killed, which for us was a huge tragedy. Those people spent 70 days in captivity, and when they managed to run away, they were killed by us. So, it might be true technically that the women were shot by IDF forces, although this has not been 100 percent established, but even if this is true, this has not been done by malice, or intentionally, it was a mistake like others during the war.

In this context, I find it very annoying that the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem very fast, a few hours after the incident, without an inquiry, lashed into publishing a text naming Israel as a country of murder, the IDF as murderers in ‘cold blood,’ which is basically a blood libel. Nobody in Israel does that intentionally. Also, we remember that at the beginning of the war there was an attack on a hospital and Israel was blamed, but later it was found out that it wasn’t Israel, but a local militia that fired. Terrible, tragic, not intentional.” – Crux

There have also been conflicting reports on humanitarian aid. Once again. All civilians were repeatedly instructed to vacate the area as it would be/was an active war zone. Several Christian NGOs have been involved in collecting and delivering food and medicine to the Christians remaining in Gaza. Several reports say that the situation is dire and people are desperate. According to one elderly woman, the Christians there are rationing the meager supplies. Many are on the brink of death, many give their rations to the children.

An official in the Patriarch’s office told me directly last week that several tons were procured by the Latin Catholic Church in Jordan and by King Abdulla ll and had been sent into Gaza. The parishioners have no lack.

Supposedly, that Sunday night the IDF helped clear the way for a large service van of aid to arrive and be distributed among the three churches in Northern Gaza. The aid had come from one of Joel Rosenberg’s charities according to All Israel News. It’s hard to know who or what to believe.

I heard from a reputable Catholic priest in Israel that the Catholics of Gaza refused an offer early on in the war to be escorted to Bethlehem or to Egypt to safety by the IDF. They had refused, wishing to stay together for safety. Another report said an evacuation plan was presently in the works. Once again, it is difficult to get exact and not contradictory answers.

To sum up, for the past two weeks I, along with another friend in the US who covered this story, took a survey of regular Catholic churchgoers in NY, NJ, VA, FL, TX, MO, IL, ID, WA, CO, CA and AZ. In total 188 people responded to the following questions:

• Have you heard anything pro or anti Palestinian in your parish from the pulpit or from other parishioners?
• Have you heard anything pro or anti Israel in your parish from the pulpit or from other parishioners?
• Have you heard anything pro or anti IDF in your parish from the pulpit or from any parishioners?
• Have you heard anything pro or anti Hamas in your parish from the pulpit or from any parishioners?
• Have you heard anything pro or antiSemitic/Jewish in your parish from the pulpit or from any parishioners?

The overwhelming majority reported that their parishes were very supportive of Israel and the Jewish people and equally against the war in general (although that was not a question). Many people expressed abhorrence over hearing of the 7 October massacre. All were concerned about the innocents in Gaza. Most reported that their parishes regularly prayed for a generic end to the war in the MidEast and in Ukraine. The only respondents who had expressed outright antiSemitism, antiZionism were in the Chicago, Dallas and Virginia (DC Beltway) area.

Unfortunately this incident was handled poorly by all sides. One day, we will hopefully be able to piece together the whole story. Until then, I pray for complete peace in the region. This was in no way meant to be a judge against or vilification of either side. It is a complex and volatile war-