A Christian mother and her daughter have been laid to rest at a church in Gaza City after being killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Relatives and friends gathered at Saint Porphyrius Church to mourn Maisa Abu Dawoud and her daughter Mary.
The pair were among at least five Palestinians killed when an apartment building in Gaza City was destroyed in an overnight strike on Saturday.
Witnesses described hearing repeated explosions before discovering people trapped beneath the rubble. Ahmed al-Dahdouh, who lives nearby, told Reuters: “We were asleep and suddenly heard continuous strikes and heavy explosions.”
The Israeli military said it carried out the strike in an attempt to kill Ali al-Amoudi, who Hamas sources identified as the head of the group's political office in Gaza. The military said the results of the strike were still under review. It was not immediately clear whether the target was in the same apartment building where the five people were killed.
Fouad al-Najjar, a relative who attended the funeral said: “Today is essentially the worst day of my life. I lost my mother and my grandmother today.”
In a statement later on Saturday, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem mourned Maisa Abu Dawoud and her daughter, Mary, extending condolences to their family.
"We pray for an end to the war and bombardment, for the protection of civilian lives, and for a just peace in which the people of Gaza can feel secure for their children and loved ones. May their memory be eternal,” the Patriarchate said.
Christians make up just 1% of Gaza's more than 2 million population.
Gaza health officials have said at least 1,400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since last October's ceasefire. Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.
(Reuters contributed to this report)
