Pope Francis calls airstrikes in Gaza 'cruelty' after criticism from Israeli minister

(Patria) - Pope Francis on Saturday again condemned Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, a day after an Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pope for suggesting the global community should study whether the military offensive there constitutes genocide against the Palestinian people, Reuters reported.

Francis opened his annual Christmas address to Catholic cardinals who lead various Vatican departments with what appeared to be a reference to Friday's Israeli airstrikes that killed at least 25 Palestinians in Gaza. "Yesterday, children were bombed," he said.

"This is cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to say this because it touches the heart."

The pope, as leader of the 1.4 billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually cautious about taking sides in conflicts, but has recently been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip. In excerpts from a book published last month, he said some international experts had said that "what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide."

Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli sharply criticized those comments in an unusual open letter published on Friday by the Italian newspaper Il Foglio. He said the pope's remarks represented a "trivialization" of the term genocide.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Israel is defending itself against the cruelty of Hamas militants who "hide behind children while trying to kill Israeli children," holding 100 hostages and abusing them. "Unfortunately, the Pope has chosen to ignore all of this," the ministry said, adding that "the death of any innocent person in war is a tragedy."

"Israel makes extraordinary efforts to prevent harm to innocents, while Hamas makes extraordinary efforts to increase harm to Palestinian civilians," the ministry said.

Francis also said on Saturday that the Catholic bishop of Jerusalem, known as the patriarch, tried to enter the Gaza Strip on Friday to visit Catholics there, but was denied entry.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that the patriarch's entry had been approved and that he would enter Gaza on Sunday, barring major security issues. The request from the patriarch's office came last week, the military said.

Israel allows clergy to enter Gaza and "works in cooperation with the Christian community to facilitate the Christian population remaining in the Gaza Strip - including coordinating its relocation from the Gaza Strip to a third country," the military statement said.