Pope Francis has doubled down on calling out Israel’s “cruelty” in Gaza after he was criticized by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
Pope Francis first made the comments on Saturday when he said Israel prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from entering Gaza. “Yesterday, they did not allow the Patriarch into Gaza as promised. Yesterday, children were bombed. This is cruelty, this is not war,” he said.
The pope was referring to Israeli airstrikes on Friday that hit a home in Jabalia, killing seven children from the same family. “I want to say it because it touches my heart,” he said.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded by saying, “The Pope’s remarks are particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism — a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting on October 7.”
The ministry added, “The blame should be directed solely at the terrorists, not at the democracy defending itself against them. Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people.”
Pope Francis was not deterred by the statement and offered more sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday. “And with pain, I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty, of the children being machine-gunned, of the bombings of schools and hospitals. What cruelty,” he said after his weekly Angelus prayer.
Dave DeCamp
Read more in the following article: https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/22/pope-francis-doubles-down-on-criticism-of-israels-cruelty-in-gaza/
