Former Rep. Justin Amash Reports Relatives Killed in Gaza Church Strike

Several family members of former U.S. Congressman Justin Amash were killed when an Israeli airstrike struck a church in Gaza City where they were taking shelter, Amash wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday.

“Give rest, O Lord, to their souls, and may their memories be eternal,” wrote Amash, who became the first Palestinian-American to serve in Congress when he was elected to serve Michigan’s 3rd Congressional district in 2011. “The Palestinian Christian community has endured so much. Our family is hurting badly. May God watch over all Christians in Gaza—and all Israelis and Palestinians who are suffering, whatever their religion or creed.”

Amash’s relatives—including two younger women he identified as Viola and Yara, whose picture he posted on X—were sheltering in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius, Gaza’s oldest active church. According to church officials, hundreds of Palestinians were sheltering inside the church’s complex when Israel hit one of its buildings Thursday, killing 17 people, according to witnesses.

The oldest church in Gaza City has traditionally been a sanctuary for Christians and Muslims during Israel’s wars against the Palestinians in Gaza. “We thought we would be protected by the church, but unfortunately, the brutal Israeli occupation does not differentiate,” a blast survivor told Al-Jazeera. “They have targeted churches, mosques and hospitals. There is no safe place.”

Amash offered appreciation for the many condolence messages and drew attention to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza in a social media post on Saturday. “Please remember the thousands upon thousands of innocent civilians, in unbearable circumstances, who simply want a life of peace,” he wrote. “So many of the people suffering are just children. They don’t deserve violence and death.”

The Gazan Health Ministry reported Sunday that since October 7, over 4,500 Palestinian people had been killed by Israeli airstrikes—40% of which were children. Nearly 15,000 have been wounded, over two-thirds of them children and women, the ministry said. As of Friday, at least 1.4 million people had been displaced amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment, according to the United Nations. About half of Gaza’s population is under the age of 18 

Israel’s military claimed the church was inadvertently damaged in a strike on a nearby Hamas “command and control center.” It denied deliberately targeting the church. “We are aware of reports on casualties,” the IDF said in a statement. “The incident is under review.”

The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem called the airstrike a war crime. “The Patriarchate emphasizes that targeting churches and their institutions, along with the shelters they provide to protect innocent citizens, especially children, and women who have lost their homes due to Israeli airstrikes on residential areas over the past 13 days, constitutes a war crime that cannot be ignored,” it said in a statement.