At least seven people were killed and dozens more wounded when gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in the southern Jordanian district of Karak on Friday. The attack took place at the Hamoud Church, where between 150 and 200 mourners had gathered.
Video footage broadcast by Jordanian state media showed three masked assailants, two armed with pistols and one carrying a semiautomatic rifle, firing at the church’s entrance before storming into the building. Witnesses described several minutes of intense gunfire, prompting survivors to flee the scene. Reports regarding the number of attackers varied, with some eyewitnesses citing four assailants, though this has not been independently confirmed.
The Jordanian Public Security Directorate confirmed seven fatalities and at least 34 injured, with several in critical condition. Security forces quickly deployed to the area and launched a manhunt for the perpetrators who fled the scene in a vehicle. No group has claimed responsibility, and authorities described the attackers as extremists.
King Abdullah II condemned the attack as a “terrorist act” and vowed a swift and resolute response. In a message on the social media platform X, the king asserted that those behind the violence “will be met with the harshest retaliation,” reaffirming national unity in the face of attempts to sow division. The king also visited local hospitals to check on the wounded and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya described the attack as a horrific act that violates fundamental human values and stressed that the security services were working intensively to apprehend the assailants. Other government officials, including Minister of Awqaf Mohammed al-Khalayleh and Communications Minister Mohammed al-Momani, emphasized that places of worship are inviolable and that such incidents undermine national cohesion.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Jordan strongly rejected any attempt to use violence to drive out Christians from the region, stating that it would only deepen their commitment to the Holy Land. Observers noted that attacks targeting places of worship are rare in Jordan, a country known for its relative religious tolerance and coexistence. Karak, which has a significant Christian population and is home to a historic Crusader castle, was also the site of a deadly 2016 attack targeting police and security forces.
The shooting drew condemnation from regional and international leaders. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described it as a “heinous terrorist attack” aimed at undermining coexistence, while a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called the assault—carried out during a funeral at a place of worship—particularly abhorrent. Jordan’s Prime Minister Jafar Hassan reiterated that terrorism has no religion or homeland, highlighting Jordan’s model of Muslim-Christian fraternity.
The government declared three days of national mourning following the incident. The attack has raised concerns over the security of religious minorities in Jordan and the broader Middle East, where Christian communities have faced increasing threats in recent years.