GAZA, Thursday, October 19, 2023 (WAFA) – A Palestinian girl was killed and others were injured in an Israeli airstrike tonight which targeted Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City. The church has been a shelter for hundreds of Palestinians displaced by the Israeli aggression.

WAFA correspondent reported that Israeli warplanes attacked the church with missiles, resulting in the death of a young girl and leaving many others injured at varying degrees. The attack also caused severe damage to parts of the church building, with an adjacent structure being completely destroyed.

Local sources pointed out that the airstrikes led to the collapse of the Council of Church Agents' building, which had housed several Palestinian families, both Christian and Muslim, seeking shelter in the church during the ongoing Israeli aggression. More casualties are feared trapped under the rubble, as rescue and medical teams are working tirelessly to reach them.

The Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church is located just meters away from the Al Ahli Baptist Hospital, affiliated with the Anglican Episcopal Church in Jerusalem, where Israeli warplanes committed a massacre last Tuesday, resulting in the death and injury of hundreds of civilians.

Hospitals, schools, mosques, and churches in the Gaza Strip have not been spared from the ongoing Israeli aggression since the beginning of October. According to international law and humanitarian law, they are considered protected zones, and targeting them constitutes a war crime.

M.N