(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Did IDF or Hamas Kill Women in Gaza Church Attack ? and a Poll [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-20 Two women were killed at a Catholic Church in Gaza on Saturday by a sniper dressed in an IDF uniform. Who was the man in the IDF uniform ? An IDF Soldier or a Hamas Soldier ? This diary tries to provide you with the information needed to make your own decision. There is a poll at the end of the diary that asks for your opinion. Sources are at the end of the diary. WHAT HAPPENED Two women were killed at a Catholic Church in Gaza on Saturday by a sniper dressed in an IDF uniform. Who was the man in the IDF uniform ? An IDF Soldier or a Hamas Soldier ? This diary tries to provide you with the information needed to make your own decision. There is a poll at the end of the diary that asks for your opinion. Sources are at the end of the diary. Nahida Khalil Anton (left), and her daughter, Samar. They were the victims of the shooting at the church. On Saturday, December 16, 2023, around noon, two women were killed in the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza. One was an elderly woman, and the other was her daughter. A picture of them is at the right. The elderly woman was shot first as she was exiting the church, and her daughter was shot after she was exited the church to rescue her mother. In addition, seven other people in the compound were wounded. An overhead picture of the church compound is below. There are two roads at right angles in the compound. Overhead Map of Church Compound. The exact location and orientation of the church is not clear to the author. The Holy Family Church is a Catholic Church in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza, which is just to the northeast of the Al-Shifa Hospital, and near the coast. Heavy fighting was taking place in the Rimal neighborhood two days before the shooting, during the day of the shooting, and the days after. IDF OR HAMAS SOLDIER ? The IDF has been widely condemned for shooting the women. But no one seems to have asked exactly who was in the IDF uniform. Hamas has IDF uniforms and used them during their October 7th attack. This diary asks the question of who was most likely in the IDF uniform. It doesn’t give an answer. Instead, it tries to give the facts and arguments so you, the reader, can answer this question for yourself. Pertinent Facts Most of the pertinent facts to be considered in answering the question of the diary are given here to avoid repetition below. These facts are: Initially one women was killed. Then the second woman was killed while trying to help the first one. Seven other people were injured. A sniper did the shooting. The sniper was seen and identified. The sniper was wearing an IDF uniform. The attack occurred at noon. Some background on snipers is needed as well. Snipers are highly trained, extremely accurate shooters. They use special rifles that are very accurate. The rifles have high power scopes to see and identify their targets, as well as to aim the shot. One of the mottos of snipers is “one shot, one kill,” meaning that snipers shoot to kill with their first shot. Snipers hide from sight so that they do not become a target. They are very hard to find. They usually use a silencer on their rifles so they can’t be heard shooting. The also use smokeless ammunition. Snipers are used to kill high value targets, typically high ranking military commanders and government officials. They are told who they are supposed to kill, and they identify their target before shooting. IDF Sniper Reasons For: There is one reason to believe that an IDF sniper fired the shots that killed the women and injured the people. It is that the Parish Priest and the Jerusalem Patriarch identified the shooter as an IDF sniper, as did subsequent reports in the media. Reasons Against: There are a number of reasons against an IDF sniper firing the shots. The most significant reason is that the IDF couldn’t find any record of a shooting at the Holy Family Church. Snipers hide themselves so they can’t be seen. The sniper at the church didn’t do this, and was identified wearing an IDF uniform. The sniper also attacked at noon, when he would be most visible. The sniper would have identified his targets before shooting. He would have known he was about to kill the two women. Its hard to imagine that he would deliberately kill these women unless he was ordered to and given a picture of them. More significantly, he injured seven other people. Snipers don’t often miss. While he may have injured some of these seven, he should have killed most of them. Furthermore, snipers aren’t normally used to shoot up a place. They are used to kill specific people. Finally, when the IDF attacks a church or kills high value people, they state a reason for doing so and identify the high value people killed. That is, they have a motive for their attack. There is no apparent motive for the IDF to kill two older women, nor to shoot up a church. Hamas Sniper Reasons For: There are three reasons to believe it was a Hamas sniper firing the shots. The most significant reason is that they were seen and identified, something that a sniper usually avoids. Also, shooting at noon is the easiest time to be seen because there are no shadows. The sniper did more than kill the two women. He shot up the church, injuring seven other people. Such random shooting isn’t something snipers do. It is something that Hamas does. Furthermore, an IDF sniper isn’t going to miss killing seven other people. A less experienced Hamas sniper, or just a Hamas soldier with a sniper rifle, may do this. The last reason is motive. Hamas is conducting an information war against Israel (quite successfully in the author’s opinion). Attacking the Holy Family Church, killing two women and shooting up the church while dressed in an IDF uniform can be another battle in their information war. Coming at Christmas, it is especially effective. If true, it is another battle they have won. Reasons Against: There are a two reasons against a Hamas sniper firing the shots. The most significant reason is that there have been no reports of a Hamas sniper doing this. The second is that the sniper was dressed in an IDF uniform. Hamas soldiers don’t wear uniforms. However, a Hamas sniper would have been able to move thru an area controlled by Israeli troops if he were dressed in an IDF uniform. If he were carrying a sniper rifle, it is unlikely he would be bothered as snipers are usually on special missions. SUMMARY The author has deliberately refrained from expressing an opinion, leaving you to form your own opinion. Please express it in the poll below. SOURCES Some of the best sources found were from the Catholic Church. The best one is at top. Best Source — https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2023-12/israel-palestine-gaza-parish-romanelli-attack.html https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256303/pope-francis-comments-on-attack-on-catholic-church-in-gaza https://www.ncregister.com/cna/idf-denies-responsibility-for-killing-of-palestinian-christians-at-gaza-church https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-12/pope-francis-holy-family-parish-gaza-appeal-civilians.html https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-778505 https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-refutes-claim-it-targeted-sole-catholic-church-in-gaza-after-2-women-said-killed/ Hamas wearing IDF uniforms — https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel-at-war/1697035378-the-terrorists-wore-our-uniforms-idf-soldiers-recount-the-liberation-of-israeli-communities https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/16/middleeast/idf-sniper-gaza-church-deaths-intl-hnk/index.html [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/20/2212949/-Did-IDF-or-Hamas-Kill-Women-in-Gaza-Church-Attack-and-a-Poll?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/