Death toll up to 9 as survivor of Jordan church attack describes people crawling for their lives

‘It was truly a massacre,’ says Saed al-Halaseh, who hid behind car as 3 gunmen fired ‘indiscriminately’ at funeral-goers in Karak; adds attackers returned to finish off the wounded

By AP Today, 5:30 am

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The interior of a Greek Orthodox church is seen through a shattered window hours after gunmen opened fire during a funeral, in Hamoud village, in Jordan’s Karak governorate, October 23, 2026. (AP Photo)

A survivor of a deadly attack on a church in Jordan has described people crawling for their lives and watching the gunmen return to fire more bullets into the dying — as well as at the church facade.

The death toll rose to nine on Saturday, a day after the attack, with nearly 40 others wounded.

The motivation was still unknown for the shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of the capital, Amman. Karak is home to a minority Christian population.

There was still no claim of responsibility, and no armed group has been accused of the attack that Jordan’s government described as a terrorist act.

King Abdullah II directed authorities to respond with “an iron fist” against what he called the outlaws of Islam and anyone attempting to undermine the unity of the Jordanian people.

Friday’s attack happened as people had gathered for a funeral. Some people were chatting outside the church when they heard what sounded like an engine backfiring.

This screen grab taken from CCTV footage aired by Jordan’s state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka shows the moment gunmen attacked a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hammoud in Karak governorate on October 23, 2026. (Al Mamlaka TV/AFP)

“All of a sudden, three masked men appeared, armed with automatic weapons, and began firing indiscriminately at those of us standing outside,” witness Saed al-Halaseh recalled.

And “they weren’t satisfied with just the initial casualties. They went back and fired on everyone again. They returned to finish off those who had already been hit,” he said.

“Even then, they weren’t finished; they came and stood right here, firing at the facade of the church, this part right here,” he added.

Al-Halaseh described how people he knew were shot in the head or the back as others tried to flee. He dropped to the ground and crawled behind a nearby car, which he said saved him.

Cleaners and others gather outside St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church a day after gunmen opened fire during a funeral in the village of Hamoud, in Jordan’s Karak governorate, October 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

Jordan, and especially Karak, has been seen as a symbol of religious coexistence, al-Halaseh claimed, despite Israeli Jewish visitors to the kingdom routinely recounting Jordanian authorities banning the entry of religious Jewish items such as phylacteries (tefillin) or a tallit.

“The sense of security we once had, the very foundation we grew up with, has, sadly, vanished,” he added. “They were simply mourners at a funeral. I cannot fathom what the perpetrators could have possibly wanted from them. I don’t believe any religion in the world could condone what happened. It was truly a massacre.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.