Yet again Pope Francis condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza. Pope Francis accused Israel of “cruelty” regarding its treatment of Gazans. in his his weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday. He added that “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.”
It is now known which exact events the Pope was referring to. Palestinian users post atrocities constantly to social media and it can be difficult to identify any one incident. Over the weekend, while addressing the members of government and the Holy See, the pope also accused Israel of cruelty, saying, “Yesterday children were bombed. This is cruelty; this is not war.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said “Cruelty is when terrorists hide behind children while attempting to murder Israeli children; cruelty is when 100 hostages, including a baby and children, are held and mistreated by terrorists for 442 days… Unfortunately, the pope has chosen to ignore all of this.” He also complained “Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people,”
Another Israeli found the Pontiff’s comments “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 same spokesman said the IDF has not identified what the Pope was referring to. They also deny that the civilian casualties are inappropriate.
Recently, Pope Francis unveiled a Nativity Scene with a controversial message in the Vatican’s Paul IV hall. The wooden figure of baby Jesus is lying on a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf seen as a national symbol of Palestine. This installation is one of a series of nativity scenes designed by the Palestinian artists Johny Andonia and Faten Nastas Mitwasi.
The Pope extolled his audience to “…remember the brothers and sisters who, instead, right there and in other parts of the world, are suffering from the tragedy of war. With tears in our eyes, let us raise our prayer for peace. Brothers and sisters, enough war, enough violence!” This is the latest in a series of comments the Pope has made about the conflict in Gaza.
In his remarks, the Pontiff addressed the Palestinian dignitaries in attendance. He welcomed “the representation of the Embassy of the State of Palestine, tormented Palestine, which has come to present, on behalf of the City of Bethlehem, this ‘Nativity,’ created by the craftsmen of Bethlehem.” PLO executive committee member Ramzi Khouri, conveyed “warm greetings” from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Other representatives of the Palestinian diaspora were also present at the ceremony.
Pope Francis has condemned the actions of the State of Israel multiple times since the start of the Israel-Hamas War. Francis stated, “ According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide.” He also asked for a “careful investigation” of Israeli military actions. He has previously described the behavior of the IDF as “a massacre” and ” terrorism.”