Pope calls for investigation into ‘genocide’ in Gaza
VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis for the first time tackled claims of Israel’s “genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza, urging investigation into whether Israel’s actions meet the definition.
In his book “Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World,” the Pope makes his latest and most forthright intervention into the more than yearlong war sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide,” the Pontiff wrote in extracts published on the front of Italy’s La Stampa daily on Sunday.
“It should be studied carefully to determine whether (the situation) corresponds to the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies,” he added.
The Argentine Pontiff has frequently deplored the number of victims of Israel’s operations in Gaza, with the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry putting the toll at least 43,846 people, most of them civilians.
But his call for a probe marks the first time he has publicly used the term genocide—without endorsing it—in the context of Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territory.
Israel’s embassy to the Vatican responded later on Sunday with a post on X, quoting its ambassador Yaron Sideman.
“There was a genocidal massacre on 7 October 2023 of Israeli citizens, and since then, Israel has exercised its right of self-defense against attempts from seven different fronts to kill its citizens,” said the statement.
“Any attempt to call it by any other name is singling out the Jewish State.”
‘Pray for peace’
On the Pope’s account on X Sunday, he wrote: “Let us #PrayTogether for peace: in martyred Ukraine, in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar and Sudan.
“War dehumanizes, leading us to tolerate unacceptable crimes. May leaders listen to the cry of the people who long for peace.”
