23/12/2024
Pope Francis on Saturday expressed his categorical rejection of the recent Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, describing them as "not war, but brutality." The remarks came during a meeting with members of the papal cabinet to celebrate Christmas, where he referred to the tragic conditions in the Strip.
The Pope described the Israeli air strike that targeted a house in central Gaza City on Friday, killing seven people including four children, as "barbaric," saying: "I want to say this because it breaks my heart."
Pope Francis pointed out that the Israelis did not allow Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to enter the Gaza Strip as promised, which the Pope described as an unjustified act.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry criticized the Pope's statements, considering them "disappointing" and "detached from the realistic context of the fight against terrorism." Pope Francis's comments come at a sensitive time, as relations between the Vatican and Israel are increasingly strained. Pope Francis, who represents the leadership of the Catholic Church's 1.4 billion followers, has always been cautious in dealing with political conflicts, but he has become more daring in his recent stances on the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
He previously said what was happening in Gaza could be classified as genocide, sparking angry reactions from the Israeli government.
Israel continues to wage a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip with American support, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of more than 155,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women, amid massive destruction and catastrophic famine in one of the worst humanitarian disasters.
