Several family members of former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash were killed when an Israeli airstrike destroyed part of a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza where they were sheltering, he said Friday.
Amash, who in 2011 became the first Palestinian American to serve in Congress, said in an X publication that some of his relatives had taken refuge inside St. Porphyry Orthodox Church when the airstrike occurred.
“I was really worried about this. It is with great sadness that I have now confirmed that several of my relatives (including Viola and Yara, pictured here) were killed in the Orthodox Church of St. Porphyry in Gaza, where they had taken refuge, when part of the complex was destroyed as a result of a bombing. Israeli. air attack”, Amash saidsharing a photo of two of his relatives who died in the bombing celebrating Christmas.
“The Palestinian Christian community has endured a lot. Our family is suffering a lot. May God watch over all Christians in Gaza, and all Israelis and Palestinians who are suffering, whatever their religion or creed,” added Amash, who represented Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District as a Republican before becoming an independent in 2019 and later member of the Libertarian Party. Party in 2020.
Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said at least 16 people were killed in the blast and several remain buried under rubble.
Viola and Yara, relatives of former representative Justin Amash, were taking refuge in the St. Porphyry Orthodox Church in Gaza when it was hit by an Israeli airstrike. Justin Amash/X
Israel said the Christian church was not the intended target of the airstrike and that Israeli warplanes had been targeting a Hamas command center by launching rockets toward the Jewish state.
“The present day, [Israel Defense Forces] “Fighter jets attacked the command and control center belonging to a Hamas terrorist, involved in launching rockets and mortars towards Israel,” the Israeli military said in a statement. “The command and control center was used to carry out attacks against Israel and contained terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization.”
“As a result of the IDF attack, a wall of a church in the area was damaged. We are aware of reports of casualties. The incident is under review,” the statement continued, noting that Hamas “intentionally” uses residents of the Gaza Strip “as human shields.”
The IDF has urged civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate to the south.
An estimated 1,000 Christians – mostly Greek Orthodox – are part of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants.
Former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash said his family is “severely suffering” following the deaths of several of his relatives. Justin Amash/X
“The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expresses its strongest condemnation of the Israeli airstrike that hit its church compound in Gaza City,” the Orthodox Church said in a statement.
Israel has hit Gaza with airstrikes – as a ground invasion looms – following the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, which killed more than 1,000 people.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn