NEWS PROVIDED BY
The Vulnerable People Project
Oct. 2, 2026
GAZA, Oct. 2, 2026 /Christian Newswire/ — The Vulnerable People Project (VPP) is calling on U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch to immediately condemn the reported killing by Israeli forces of Maria Najjar and her mother, Maysa Najat, identified as Catholics in Gaza, and demand concrete action to prevent further attacks on civilians.
VPP also urges every Christian media outlet to give the women’s deaths prominent coverage and every American citizen and institution to use their platforms and influence to join together in demanding accountability. This week’s killings add to a documented history of deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza’s Catholic community.
On December 16, 2023, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem reported that an Israeli military sniper killed two women, Nahida and her daughter Samar, inside Holy Family Parish. One was killed while trying to carry the other to safety. On July 17, 2025, the Patriarchate reported another Israeli army strike on the parish compound that killed three people and wounded others, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli.
“A mother and daughter should be alive today. Their family should be able to embrace them,” said Jason Jones, president and founder of the Vulnerable People Project, in reference to the Oct. 2 killing of Maria Najjar and Maysa Najat. “Every Christian editor, broadcaster, and pastor should say their names. Tell your people what happened to them. Give the Christians of Gaza the attention you would beg the world to give your own family. We all owe that to our brothers and sisters in Gaza.”
VPP calls on Huckabee to demand accountability directly from Israeli authorities and for an independent investigation, complete with the presence of international media on the ground. VPP also calls on Burch to work with the Holy See and the Latin Patriarchate to secure a coordinated U.S. response. Both ambassadors should publicly condemn the killings and press the Trump administration for enforceable protections for civilians, churches, and humanitarian workers, with independent monitoring and consequences for violations.
VPP also urges both ambassadors to press the White House and State Department to withhold weapons and other support that enable attacks on civilians, and to make continued military and diplomatic support contingent on verifiable measures to prevent further harm. The objective must be to ensure that Israel never again inflicts such violence on Gaza’s Catholic community or any civilian population.
“Ambassador Huckabee, Ambassador Burch: use the power entrusted to you to protect the people who are still alive,” Jones said. “Condemn this crime without equivocation. Demand accountability. Insist that American support serve the protection of innocent life. No family should have to bury another mother or daughter while officials with the power to act do anything less than their utmost to serve the vulnerable.”
VPP is asking newsrooms to seek public answers from both ambassadors and follow up on what they do. It urges Americans, churches, universities, charities and civic organizations to publish their own appeals, contact the embassies and their members of Congress, and use their audiences and institutional relationships to sustain pressure for action.
“You do not need a large audience to stand with your coreligionists who live under the threat of violence from an ally nation that receives U.S. taxpayer support,” Jones said. “Use the influence you have. Help us reach the people who can stop this. These women’s Catholic faith makes their loss an immediate grief for our Church, and their human dignity obliges every American to care. Families in Gaza deserves to live.”
Learn more about VPP’s work at VulnerablePeopleProject.com and follow its reporting at VPP News.
PRESS CONTACT
Stephen Herreid
Advocacy Messaging Manager, Vulnerable People Project
Stephen@TheGreatCampaign.org
603-262-0829
ABOUT JASON JONES AND THE VULNERABLE PEOPLE PROJECT
Jason Jones is a filmmaker, author and human rights advocate, and president and founder of the Vulnerable People Project. Through humanitarian assistance and advocacy, VPP works to protect people threatened by violence, persecution and displacement, regardless of their faith or background.
SOURCE The Vulnerable People Project