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Pope Francis calls for probe to determine if Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute ‘genocide’

Smoke and flames billow after Israeli forces struck a high-rise tower in Gaza City, October 7, 2023. REUTERS/Ashraf Amra

Rome (Quds News Network)- Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute “genocide,” according to excerpts released on Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year.

It’s the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.

In September, he said Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon have been “immoral” and disproportionate, and that its military has gone beyond the rules of war.

The book, by Hernán Reyes Alcaide and based on interviews with the Pope, is entitled “Hope never disappoints. Pilgrims towards a better world.” It will be released on Tuesday ahead of the pope’s 2025 jubilee.

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope says in excerpts published by the Italian daily La Stampa.

“We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies,” he adds.

Israel has faced accusations that it is subjecting Palestinians in Gaza to genocidal acts, with South Africa bringing its case against Israel before the United Nations court in The Hague in December, accusing it of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The death toll from Israel’s assault in Gaza, which began in October, has surpassed 43,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

South Africa’s case argues that Israel violated the 1948 Genocide Convention, which was established in the aftermath of the Holocaust and requires all countries to prevent the recurrence of such crimes. Such cases can take years to conclude.

According to a new United Nations Special Committee report released last week, Israel’s war conduct in Gaza “is consistent with the characteristics of genocide,” including mass civilian casualties and using starvation as a weapon.

“Through its siege over Gaza, obstruction of humanitarian aid, alongside targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated UN appeals, binding orders from the International Court of Justice and resolutions of the Security Council, Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury, using starvation as a method of war and inflicting collective punishment on the Palestinian population,” the UN committee said in a press release.

The UN report comes after the US-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report detailing Israel’s forced mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza in a deliberate and systematic campaign that amounts to a war crime and a crime against humanity.

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