Pope Francis Again Calls Airstrikes In Israel's Cruelty Gaza

JAKARTA - Pope Francis again condemned Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, a day after an Israeli government minister publicly criticized the Pope for using the term genocide in Gaza.

Pope Francis opened his annual Christmas address, on Saturday, December 21, in front of Catholic cardinals at the Vatican, alluding to Israeli airstrikes on Friday that killed 25 Palestinians in Gaza.

Yesterday, the children were bombed, the Pope said. "This is cruelty. This is not war. I want to say this because it disturbs the heart," he said.

Pope Francis also said Catholic bishops in Jerusalem tried to enter the Gaza Strip on Friday, December 20, to visit Catholics there. But the bishop was denied entry.

The Pope, as leader of the 1.4 billion Roman Catholic Church, is usually cautious in favor of conflict, but lately he has been more outspoken about Israel's military operations against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

In a book quote published last month, the Pope said some international experts said what happened in Gaza had the characteristics of genocide.

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amicai Chikli sharply criticized the comments in an unusual open letter published by Italian newspaper Il Foglio on Friday. He questioned the use of the term genocide.

Israel's foreign ministry says its country defends itself against the atrocities of Hamas militants.

"Unfortunately, the Pope chose to ignore all of this," the ministry said.

"Israel is making tremendous efforts to prevent losses to innocent people, while Hamas is making extraordinary efforts to increase losses to Palestinian civilians," the Israeli Foreign Ministry added.