Pope Francis leaves at the end of a mass for the World Day of the Poor at St. Peter's Basilica in The Vatican, on Nov. 17, 2024. (Credit: Tiziana Fabi/AFP)
Pope Francis for the first time tackled claims of Israel's ongoing "genocide" of Palestinians in Gaza in a forthcoming book, urging further investigation into whether Israel's actions meet the definition.
Titled "Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World," the book includes his latest and most forthright intervention into the more than year-long war in Gaza.
"According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide," the pontiff wrote in extracts published on Sunday in Italy's La Stampa daily.
"This should be studied carefully to determine whether [the situation] corresponds to the technical definition formulated by jurists and international organizations," he added.
Francis, leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church, is usually careful not to take sides in international conflicts, and to stress de-escalation. But he has stepped up his criticism of Israel's conduct in its war in Gaza.
The Argentine pontiff has frequently deplored the number of victims of Israel's military offensive in Gaza, with the territory's health ministry putting the death toll at least 43,846 people, most of them civilians.
But his call for a probe marks the first time he has publicly used the term genocide — without endorsing it — in the context of Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territory.
In September, he decried the deaths of Palestinian children in Israeli strikes in Gaza. He also sharply criticized Israel's airstrikes in Lebanon as going "beyond morality".
Francis has not previously described the situation in Gaza as a genocide in public. But last year he was at the centre of a messy dispute after a meeting with a group of Palestinians at the Vatican, who insisted he had used the word with them in private, while the Vatican said he had not.
The Vatican did not offer comment about Francis' most recent remarks, but its news website reported on Sunday about the book excerpts, including the genocide comment.
On Thursday, a United Nations Special Committee judged Israel's conduct of warfare in Gaza "consistent with the characteristics of genocide," accusing the country of "using starvation as a method of war."
Its conclusions have already been condemned by Israel's key backer the United States.
It is, however, not the first time that Israel has been the subject of genocide accusations since the start of the war.
South Africa has brought a genocide case before the International Court of Justice with the support of several countries, including Turkey, Spain and Mexico.
Francis has also frequently called for the return of the Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian Islamist militants on Oct. 7.
That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people on the Israeli side, the majority of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli official figures.
Hamas fighters also took 251 people hostages that day, with 97 still held in the Palestinian territory including 34 the Israeli army says are dead.
Last week Francis met at the Vatican with a delegation of former hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, who are advocating for the release of family members and others still being held.