\n Pope Francis for the first time tackled claims of Israel's ongoing \"genocide\" of Palestinians in Gaza in extracts from a forthcoming book published Sunday, urging further investigation into whether Israel's actions meet the definition.\n<\/p>\n
\n 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 sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide,\" the pontiff wrote in extracts published on the front of Italy's La Stampa daily on Sunday.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"It should be studied carefully to determine whether (the situation) corresponds to the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies,\" he added.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Argentine pontiff has frequently deplored the number of victims of Israel's operations in Gaza, with the territory's Hamas-run health ministry putting the toll at least 43,846 people, most of them civilians.\n<\/p>\n
\n 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.\n<\/p>\n
\n Israel's embassy to the Vatican responded later Sunday with a post on X, quoting its ambassador Yaron Sideman.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"There was a genocidal massacre on 7 October 2023 of Israeli citizens, and since then, Israel has exercised its right of self-defense against attempts from seven different fronts to kill its citizens,\" said the statement.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Any attempt to call it by any other name is singling out the Jewish State.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'Pray for peace' -\n<\/p>\n
\n On the pope's account on X Sunday, he wrote: \"Let us #PrayTogether for peace: in martyred Ukraine, in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, and Sudan.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"War dehumanizes, leading us to tolerate unacceptable crimes. May leaders listen to the cry of the people who long for peace.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n The new book by the pope comes out Tuesday in Italy, Spain and Latin America, with other releases elsewhere due later.\n<\/p>\n
\n 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\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Its conclusions have already been condemned by Israel's key backer the United States.\n<\/p>\n
\n It is, however, not the first time that Israel has been the subject of genocide accusations since the start of the war.\n<\/p>\n
\n South Africa brought a genocide case before the International Court of Justice with the support of several countries, including Turkey, Spain and Mexico.\n<\/p>\n
\n Francis has also frequently called for the return of the Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian Islamist militants on October 7.\n<\/p>\n
\n 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.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hamas fighters also took 251 people hostage that day, with 97 still held in the Palestinian territory including 34 the Israeli army says are dead.\n<\/p>\n
\n On Thursday, the 87-year-old pope received 16 former hostages freed after months of captivity in Gaza.\n<\/p>\n
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Pope Francis for the first time tackled claims of Israel's ongoing \"genocide\" of Palestinians in Gaza in extracts from a forthcoming book published Sunday, 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-138366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n