Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his recent criticisms of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave "very serious and shameful".
Pope Francis © Mena Today
Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his recent criticisms of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave "very serious and shameful".
In a yearly address to diplomats delivered on his behalf by an aide, Francis appeared to reference deaths caused by winter cold in Gaza, where there is almost no electricity.
"We cannot in any way accept the bombing of civilians," the text said.
"We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country's energy network has been hit."
The pope was present for the address but asked an aide to read it for him as he is recovering from a cold.
The Pope's critical and systematic stance toward Israel raises questions within the Vatican, especially given the rare denunciation of terrorism in Francis's statements
Reporting by Joshua McElwee and Mena Today
The Israeli military accused Lebanese armed group Hezbollah on Tuesday of seeking to rebuild its combat abilities in south Lebanon to the point of threatening Israel's security and undoing last year's ceasefire deal.
The 12th Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate (ADSD), organized by the Emirates Policy Center (EPC), concluded today after two intense days of high-level discussions on the global strategic order and regional transformations, particularly in the Middle East.
A de facto partition of Gaza between an area controlled by Israel and another ruled by Hamas is increasingly likely, multiple sources said, with efforts to advance U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war beyond a ceasefire faltering.
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.