Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticized Israeli forces today, Monday, regarding the alleged shooting and killing of two women in a Christian compound in the Gaza Strip, stating that "such actions will not help Israel in its fight to defeat the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, Hamas." Tajani said, "An Israeli sniper shot two women inside a church; this has nothing to do with the fight against Hamas, as terrorists certainly do not hide in Christian churches."
This marks a rare criticism of Israel from Italy. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Catholic authority in the Holy Land, reported at the beginning of this week that the women, Naheda Khalil Anton and her daughter Samar, were shot inside the Holy Family parish complex in Gaza. The patriarchate's statement noted that "seven other individuals were injured by gunfire while trying to protect others."
Italy has offered explicit support to Israel since the Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7. However, like many Western countries, it is becoming concerned about the rising death toll during Israel's ongoing aerial and ground war in Gaza. Tajani stated in an annual meeting of Italy's ambassadors, "(We) strongly condemn Hamas's attack on unarmed civilians... but we also want Israel's response... to be proportional and avoid civilian casualties."
