Israeli Airstrike Kills 4 Women in Gaza City
Medical sources said five Palestinians died when the strike hit the ground floor of the Al-Asala 1 building near Haidar roundabout in the western Rimal neighborhood. It was the latest violation of the ongoing ceasefire agreement.
The victims were Maysa Abu Daoud, her daughter Mary Najjar, academic Yasmin al-Boubou and her mother, Halloum al-Boubou.
Serving displaced families
Known as Umm Michel and Umm Fouad, Maysa and Mary were Palestinian Christians from Gaza City. According to Palestine's Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs, they devoted their time to helping parishioners and displaced people sheltering at the Holy Family Church.
Committee chairman Ramzi Khoury called their deaths a “painful loss” for their families, the church and its parishioners.
Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza mourned the women, as did Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who offered condolences to their relatives and Gaza's Christian community. A funeral with prayers, hymns and religious readings was held Saturday at Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City's Old City.
Mary's 14-year-old son, Fouad al-Najjar, told media the strike hit the building at about 1.30 am (2230GMT).
“My grandmother and my mother died. May God have mercy on them,” he said.
He appealed for an end to the Israeli war, saying people were losing loved ones every day.
“We are exhausted by this war and have endured so much,” he said.
“For almost three years, we have been living through the same destruction, the same grief and the same war.”
He said Israeli attacks had killed Muslims and Christians alike.
“The occupation does not distinguish between a Muslim and a Christian. I have personally lost many Muslims and Christians who were dear to me,” he said.
Palestinian Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac, who serves in Ramallah and directs the Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice, wrote on the US social media company X: “The genocide continues in Gaza.”
Christians and church compounds have been hit before during Tel Aviv's genocidal war in the enclave. An attack on the Saint Porphyrius Church compound on Oct. 19, 2023, killed at least 18 people. Two months later, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said an Israeli sniper shot dead a woman and her daughter inside the Holy Family parish compound in Gaza. On July 17, 2025, an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Catholic Church compound killed three people and wounded others, including parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli.
Academic killed
Yasmin al-Boubou was a lecturer in the multimedia department at the University of Palestine's College of Intermediate Studies in Gaza. She had earlier headed the university's Multimedia Technology Department, a post official university reports from 2019 confirm, in which she oversaw academic and artistic activities for students.
Her university biography listed a bachelor's degree in management computer information systems from Al-Quds Open University. It also listed three master's degrees: management and information systems, computer science and information technology, and sustainable development, with a specialization in institution building and human development. The biography, which covered her qualifications through September 2021, also identified her as a doctoral student in computer science and artificial intelligence at that time. Her 2021 master's thesis at Al-Quds University examined students' perceptions of Palestinian universities in Gaza and the factors influencing them.
Palestinian academics and rights advocates mourned her death. Academic Louay Jouda paid tribute to her and her mother on Facebook, writing that Israel continued to commit “massacres against innocent people.” Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor chairman Ramy Abdu also mourned Yasmin, while academic Iyad al-Qarra called her a distinguished scholar.
Her mother, Halloum, died alongside her in the same strike. No verified information about her personal or professional life was available.
Yasmin's death adds to the long list of academics and researchers killed across Gaza during the war. In a Sept. 28, 2026 report, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said it had documented the deaths of around 194 intellectuals, academics and researchers, along with more than 830 teachers and education workers.
Palestinian figures indicate Israel has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and injured over 175,000 in Gaza since Oct. 8, 2023, while about 90% of the enclave's infrastructure has been destroyed.
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