The pope Francis refers for the first time to Israel’s accusations of “genocide” in Gaza, in a forthcoming book, excerpts of which were published in Italy on Sunday. “According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide. This should be studied carefully to determine whether (the situation) corresponds to the technical definition formulated by jurists and international organizations”, says the Pope.
These words are taken from Francis’ new book, Hope never disappoints. Pilgrims to a better worldto be published Tuesday in Italy, Spain and South America, and whose daily newspaper La Stampa published extracts on Sunday.
A first for the Pope
The pontiff regularly refers to the extermination of Jews during the Second World War, the “genocide” of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, the Tutsis in Rwanda or Christians in the Middle East.
He frequently deplores civilian casualties in Gaza but this is the first time he has publicly used the term genocide – without, however, endorsing it – in the context of Israeli military operations in Palestinian territory.
The Israeli embassy to the Holy See reacted on its X account on Sunday afternoon, stating that the country had launched an offensive of “self-defense” in Gaza in retaliation “for the genocidal massacre of Israeli citizens” by Hamas on October 7, 2023. “Any attempt to call this self-defense by any other name amounts to isolating the Hebrew state,” wrote the Israeli diplomatic representation.
Methods corresponding to “the characteristics of genocide”.
On Thursday, a special United Nations has published a report in which it considers that the methods of warfare employed by Israel “correspond to the characteristics of genocide”.
The report of this UN special committee, set up in 1968 to investigate Israeli practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, is due to be presented to the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday. Its conclusions have already been condemned by the United States.
And this is not the first time that Israel has been the subject of such accusations since the start of the war over a year ago. South Africa takes legal action before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and several countries, including Turkey, Spain and Mexico, have joined in.
Nearly 44,000 dead in Gaza
Israeli operations in the Palestinian territory have claimed 43,846 lives, most of them civilians, according to the latest Hamas death toll announced on Sunday. They come in retaliation for the massacre of 1,206 people in Israel by commandos of the Islamist movement on October 7Most of them were civilians, according to a count based on official figures and including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Pope Francis also often calls for the return of all Israeli hostages in his public statements. On Thursday, he received Vatican a group of 16 former hostages freed after months of captivity in Gaza.