A funeral service was held at Gaza City’s Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church on October 3, 2026, for a Palestinian Christian mother and daughter who were among five people killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment building. The Gaza church funeral brought together grieving relatives, parishioners and friends – including Muslims – in one of Gaza’s oldest churches, as health officials confirmed at least five Palestinians were killed in the strike, four of them women. (Read the full version of this story on Watan News’ main site.)
Key Facts
- What: A funeral service at Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City’s Old City for Maisa Abu Dawoud and her daughter Mary, killed in an overnight airstrike.
- When: The strike hit at about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2026; the funeral was held later the same day with prayers, hymns and religious readings.
- Casualties: At least five Palestinians killed in the strike on an apartment building in Gaza City, including four women, according to health and civil defence officials.
- Victims: Maisa Abu Dawoud, a Christian mother known as Umm Michel, and her daughter Mary, known as Umm Fouad; both devoted time to helping parishioners and displaced people sheltering at churches in Gaza.
- Eyewitness: Resident Ahmed Al-Dahdouh described waking to continuous strikes and explosions; the strike destroyed the apartment building and started a fire.
- Response: The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem mourned the mother and daughter; Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa offered condolences. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Gaza church funeral draws Muslims and Christians alike
Friends, including Muslims, and relatives gathered at Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City to pay their respects during the funeral of the Christian mother and daughter. Christians make up just 1 per cent of Gaza’s more than two million population, and the shared mourning underscored how the loss was felt across communities.
Fourteen-year-old Fouad Al-Najjar, Mary’s son, stood among the mourners. “Today is essentially the worst day of my life. I lost my mother and my grandmother today,” he said, adding that he had personally lost many Muslims and Christians who were dear to him.
Strike details: apartment building destroyed
An Israeli airstrike killed at least five Palestinians, including four women, in an apartment building in Gaza City early on Saturday, health and civil defence service officials said. The strike destroyed the apartment building and started a fire.
“We were asleep and suddenly heard continuous strikes and heavy explosions. The children woke up startled and started running and screaming,” witness Ahmed Al-Dahdouh said. He described pulling bodies from the rubble of the destroyed building. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Wider context: ceasefire under strain
The strike comes as Israel has stepped up its attacks in recent weeks, saying Hamas has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of the ceasefire. Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal, and accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza peace deal.
Last year’s US-brokered Gaza ceasefire was meant to lead toward reconstruction of the territory and an end to the conflict, but little progress has been made. Gaza health officials estimate that at least 1,400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since last October’s ceasefire.
Conclusion
The funeral at Gaza’s Saint Porphyrius Church for a mother and daughter killed in an overnight airstrike laid bare the human cost of a conflict grinding on despite a ceasefire. Mourners from different faiths stood side by side inside one of Gaza’s oldest churches, while the boy who lost his mother and grandmother spoke for an exhausted city: people are losing loved ones every day, and the war, he said, must end.
