
Pope Francis again criticized Israel on Thursday for its war against the Hamas terrorist organization, calling Israel's efforts to destroy the terrorist organization that committed the October 7 massacre “very serious and shameful,” Reuters reported.
In a yearly address to diplomats from 184 countries, known as the "State of the World Address," Francis devoted a significant portion of his remarks to his views on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, saying that people have been freezing to death due to a lack of electricity. An aide delivered the pope's remarks this time because Francis has a cold, but he was present for the speech.
“We cannot in any way accept the bombing of civilians," Francis stated, adding, “We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country’s energy network has been hit."
Reports have emerged from Gaza of multiple newborn infants freezing to death in tent camps when temperatures drop overnight, though such reports are difficult to verify. High temperatures in Gaza this winter have typically been in the mid-to-high sixties and occasionally risen into the seventies. Low temperatures at night have typically been in the low fifties and have never approached freezing, though temperatures have occasionally dipped into the forties at night.
In his remarks, Francis also condemned antisemitism and addressed the conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Mozambique, Myanmar, and Nicaragua.
Francis has criticized Israel repeatedly in recent weeks. On December 23, Francis on Sunday reiterated his condemnation of Israel’s strikes on the Gaza Strip, denouncing what he described the "cruelty" of the attacks for the second time in as many days.
"And with pain I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty, of the children being machine-gunned, of the bombings of schools and hospitals. What cruelty," the pope said to those gathered at the Vatican.
Similar remarks made by the pope the day before were followed by criticism from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
A spokesperson said Pope Francis’ comments were "particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel's fight against jihadist terrorism -- a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting on October 7."
"Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people," the spokesperson added.
The Israeli added, "Cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children; cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them."
In November of 2023, a month after the October 7 massacre, Jewish groups criticized Pope Francis after he appeared to accuse both Israel and Hamas of “terrorism” in the war that started after Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel on October 7.
“This is what wars do,” the pope said at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square. “But here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war. This is terrorism.”
Rabbi David Lau, then the Chief Rabbi of Israel, later wrote a letter to Pope Francis in which he called on the Pontiff to retract his comments.
In September, the pope decried the deaths of children in Israeli military strikes in Gaza while expressing doubt that Israel and Hamas are seeking an end to the war between them.
He also said that "sometimes I think it's a war that is too much, too much".
More recently, remarks attributed to Francis in a newly released book suggested that the global community should examine whether Israel's ongoing campaign in Gaza could be classified as a genocide.
After being criticized for those remarks, the pope claimed that his words had been misunderstood and were taken out of context.