The Israel Defense Forces has denied responsibility for the deaths.
The Christian community in Gaza has approximately 1,000 members, most of whom are Greek Orthodox. There are only about 100 Catholics, which means theirs is a tight-knit community. Holy Family’s pastor, Father Gabriel Romanelli, said he was close friends with the women who were killed.
The Argentine missionary priest shared with Vatican Radio-Vatican News about both women, whose murders Pope Francis decried in Sunday’s Angelus.
Both “were very good people,” Romanelli related. “Nahida was the mother of a large family, with many children, almost all of them married… Among the unmarried children was Samar, the woman who was murdered. Samar was the cook at the home of the Sisters of Mother Teresa. Both mother and daughter participated in all the activities.”
Romanelli shared that “Nahida was part of the Women’s Confraternity of St. Anne. She was very active in this group.”
“In all the activities in which the families participated, she came with her children, her grandchildren… And Samar too. Samar took on many tasks, she helped us organize many activities, even with the young people and with the St. Anne group itself. Everyone, that whole family, the Anton family, is very close to the church, to the parish. It’s really sad,” the priest said.