A messy dispute broke out on Wednesday over whether Pope Francis used the word "genocide" to describe events in Gaza.
Pope Francis © Mena Today
A messy dispute broke out on Wednesday over whether Pope Francis used the word "genocide" to describe events in Gaza, with Palestinians who met with him insisting that he did and the Vatican saying he did not.
The opposing versions emerged at an afternoon press conference with 10 Palestinians who met the pope on Wednesday morning at his Vatican residence. That meeting followed a separate one with Israeli relatives of hostages in Gaza.
"When we shared the stories of the families that have been killed (in Gaza) he mentioned 'I see the genocide'," said Shireen Awwad Hilal, who teaches at the Bethlehem Bible College.
"It was very clear, the word genocide did not come from us. It came from His Holiness, Pope Francis," she said.
But a statement sent by Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, in response to question texted by a reporter, said the opposite.
The Israeli military has struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, known as Dahiyeh, the first strike on the militant group's stronghold since an April 16 ceasefire was brokered.
The Pentagon has elevated its counterintelligence threat assessment regarding Israel to its highest possible level, multiple American media outlets reported, a dramatic development that lays bare the deepening tensions between two countries that launched a joint war against Iran just months ago.
France's telecoms landscape is being redrawn. On June 6, Bouygues Telecom, Free and Orange signed an agreement with Altice France to acquire SFR, the operator controlled by Patrick Drahi, in a deal valuing the company at €20.35 billion.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.