Gaza's civil defence rescue agency reported that an Israeli air strike killed 10 members of a family on Friday in the northern part of the territory, including seven children.
"Yesterday they did not allow the Patriarch (of Jerusalem) into Gaza as promised. Yesterday children were bombed. This is cruelty, this is not war," he told members of the government of the Holy See.
"I want to say it because it touches my heart."
Violence in the Gaza Strip continues to rock the coastal territory more than 14 months into the Israel-Hamas war, even as international mediators work to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants.
The Israeli military told AFP it had struck "several terrorists who were operating in a military structure belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation and posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area".
"According to an initial examination, the reported number of casualties resulting from the strike does not align with the information held by the IDF," it added.
Francis, 88, has called for peace since Hamas's unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, and the Israeli retaliatory campaign in Gaza.
In recent weeks he has hardened his remarks against the Israeli offensive.
At the end of November, he said that "the invader's arrogance... prevails over dialogue" in "Palestine", a rare position that contrasts with the tradition of neutrality of the Holy See.
In extracts from a forthcoming book published in November, he called for a "careful" study as to whether the situation in Gaza "corresponds to the technical definition" of genocide, an accusation firmly rejected by Israel.
The Holy See has recognised the State of Palestine since 2013, with which it maintains diplomatic relations, and it supports the two-state solution.
Gaza rescuers say Israeli air strike kills 7 children from one family
Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Dec 21, 2024 -
Gaza's civil defence rescue agency reported that an Israeli air strike killed 10 members of a family on Friday in the northern part of the territory, including seven children.
Violence in the Gaza Strip continues to rock the coastal territory more than 14 months into the Israel-Hamas war, even as international mediators work to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants.
"There are 10 martyrs ... all targeted by an air strike on their home in Jabalia al-Nazla, southwest of Jabalia. All of the martyrs are from the same family, including seven children, the oldest aged six," civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Bassal said the strike injured 15 other people.
The Israeli military told AFP it had struck "several terrorists who were operating in a military structure belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization and posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area".
"According to an initial examination, the reported number of casualties resulting from the strike does not align with the information held by the IDF," it added.
"The IDF continues to precisely operate against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip in accordance with international law, including taking measures to mitigate harm to uninvolved civilians."
Israel in early October began a major military operation in Gaza's north, which it said aimed to prevent Hamas from regrouping there.
Amid the ongoing violence, the United States, Egypt, and Qatar are engaged in renewed negotiations to halt the war and secure the release of dozens of hostages still held by militants in Gaza.
On Tuesday, the United States expressed "cautious optimism" about the prospects of reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.
The war was sparked by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Hamas militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 96 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 45,206 people, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
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