Spiritual leader of Catholics, Pope Francis, reacted to Israel’s recent air strikes on Gaza and said, “This is not war, but persecution.”
Pope Francis touched on the events in Gaza during a meeting with the Papal Cabinet (Curia) in the Vatican to celebrate Christmas. The spiritual leader of the Catholics referred to the airstrikes carried out by Israel in Gaza in recent days, saying, “Yesterday, they did not allow the Patriarch (Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa) to enter Gaza, even though they had previously given permission, and yesterday children were bombed. This is not war, it is persecution. I want to say this because it touches the heart.” In the summary of a book published last month, Pope Francis said, “According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza bears the characteristics of a genocide. Whether this meets the technical definition determined by jurists and international organizations should be carefully investigated.”
A statement from the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza stated that 21 people lost their lives and 61 were injured in the attacks carried out by the Israeli army in various parts of Gaza in the last 24 hours. The statement noted that 422 people lost their lives and 1,738 people were injured in Israel’s attacks on Gaza in the last 10 days.
