In August, Pope Francis as soon as once more thrust himself into the political area, this time condemning Israel’s army actions in Gaza as “terrorism.”
Throughout his latest recitation of the Angelus prayer from St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff made inflammatory statements that not solely mischaracterize a posh battle but additionally undermine the legitimacy of a nation defending itself in opposition to ongoing aggression.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas and different Palestinian armed teams launched a coordinated assault on Israel, marking some of the extreme terrorist assaults in historical past.
Human Rights Watch has documented quite a few violations of worldwide humanitarian regulation through the assault that might quantity to warfare crimes. These violations included deliberate and indiscriminate assaults in opposition to civilians, willful killings of individuals in custody, and hostage-taking.
Israeli authorities reported that roughly 1,195 people had been killed because of the terrorist assault, with assessments indicating that a minimum of 815 amongst them had been civilians, together with international nationals, girls, and youngsters.
The terrorist assault additionally resulted in a major hostage disaster, with experiences stating that Palestinian armed teams took roughly 251 civilians and members of Israeli safety forces into Gaza. Over 100 are nonetheless lacking.
Francis, in an obvious try to additional vilify Israel’s efforts to guard its residents, recounted a tragic incident involving a mom and her daughter, who he claimed had been killed by Israeli Protection Forces (IDF) snipers. The Pope used this incident to stoke outrage, ignoring the advanced realities of city warfare and the well-documented techniques of terrorist teams utilizing civilian areas as shields.
The pontiff went on to conflate warfare with terrorism, stating, “Some say: ‘It’s terrorism, it’s warfare.’ Sure, it’s warfare, it’s terrorism. That is why Scripture states that ‘God makes wars stop… he breaks bows and breaks spears.’ Allow us to pray to the Lord for peace.”
Now this…
The Times of Israel reported – Pope Francis has known as for an investigation to find out if Israel’s actions in Gaza represent “genocide,” in accordance with excerpts launched at the moment from an upcoming new ebook on the pontiff.
It’s the primary time that Francis has overtly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions within the Gaza Strip. In September, he mentioned Israel’s assaults in Gaza and Lebanon have been “immoral” and disproportionate, and that its army has gone past the principles of warfare.
Within the new ebook, Pope Francis requires an investigation into Israel’s actions in Gaza since Hamas slaughter of Jews on October 7.
