GAZA CITY (BP)—A Christian grandmother and daughter are among the latest casualties of the Israel-Hamas War, despite the nearly yearlong ceasefire brokered in October 2025, a Baptist Palestinian minister there told Baptist Press.
Hannah Massad, founder and leader of Christian Mission to Gaza, identified those killed as Maysa and her daughter Mary, who frequently attended Gaza Baptist Church virtual meetings since the Israel-Hamas war began.
Three years after the war began, Maysa and Mary were members of the Christian community in Gaza that has dwindled to about 500 or 550, Massad said, down from 800 to 1,000 when the war began.
“Early Saturday morning, on October 3, we were heartbroken to learn that Sister Maysa and her daughter Mary, members of the Christian community in Gaza, were killed when the building where they lived was hit during Israeli bombing,” Massad said Oct. 6 in a Christian Mission to Gaza update.
“Maysa and Mary frequently attended our Sunday congregation Zoom meetings, received assistance from the ministry, and had become very dear to us. I had opportunities to visit with and pray with them many times when I would minister in Gaza.
“Their deaths have been a profound shock to our ministry and community.”
The women, further identified as Maysa Abu Daoud and Mary al-Najjar by TRTWorld.com, were among five Palestinians killed in the strike on a residential building in the Rimal neighborhood, TRT World reported. The women were funeralized at the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City. Mary is survived by her three children.
Continuing to minister in Gaza
Gaza Baptist Church, the only Baptist congregation in the strip, continues to host weekly Sunday services on Zoom, reaching Baptist members and others scattered across several nations. Christian Mission to Gaza provides humanitarian relief, including food, clean water and financial support for essential needs, with signs noting the help is from the Baptist church.
In September on behalf of the Baptist church, Christian Mission to Gaza provided Palestinians with 1,000 hot meals, clothing for 100 children, 80 food baskets and food coupons, two trucks of drinking water and nine tents for displaced families, the mission reported of its monthly outreaches.
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“We continue to pray for an end to this terrible suffering, for comfort for all who mourn,” Massad said, “and for the Lord’s mercy and peace for the people of Gaza and throughout the region.”
While the church has sustained heavy structural damage, especially on the fourth and fifth floors, about 70 people from the Muslim community are sheltered within its ruins and in a tent community on the church grounds, Massad said. A handful of people are also sheltered at the Orthodox and Latin churches, Massad said.
“Some Christians who had to leave the church compounds do not have another place to stay and have needed to rent homes,” Massad said. “By the grace of God, we have been able to help some families with their rent, and I understand that another church is also helping some families in this way.”
The Baptist church plans to repair its heavily damaged campus, Massad said, but no plans are currently in place. Concurrently, scattered members are still uncertain when and if they’ll return to Gaza.
“Most of the members of Gaza Baptist Church have already evacuated and are now scattered in different countries,” Massad said. “Most of the Christians who remain in Gaza are from the Greek Orthodox and Latin (Roman Catholic Holy Family) churches.”
The Orthodox and Latin congregations continue to meet on their campuses, according to Facebook posts.
“It is still a very difficult situation,” Massad said.
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