Pope says Israel's bombings in Lebanon, Gaza 'immoral'

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) - Pope Francis on Sunday said Israel's attacks in Gaza and Lebanon are "immoral" and "disproportionate."

During his flight back from a four-day trip to Luxembourg and Belgium, the pope was asked about Israel’s targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Friday's strike on Beirut, which led to many casualties and reduced several buildings to rubble.

"Every day I call the parish of Gaza. More than 600 people are there, inside the parish and the college, and they tell me about the things that are happening, including the cruelties that are occurring there," he told journalists.

"What you are telling me—I didn’t quite understand how things have been (evolving, ed.)—but defense must always be proportionate to the attack," he added.

The Israeli army has pounded Lebanon against what it called Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 816 people and injuring over 2,500 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The heavy bombardment also targeted senior Hezbollah commanders and forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

"When there is something disproportionate, a domineering tendency that goes beyond morality is evident," the pope said.

"A country that, with its forces, does these things—I'm talking about any country—that does these things in such a "superlative" way, these are immoral actions," he added.

"Even in war, there is morality to be safe-guarded. War is immoral, but the rules of war indicate some morality. But when this is not respected, you can see—as we say in Argentina—the “bad blood” of these things."