With accusations of Israel committing “genocide” in Gaza being amplified in recent weeks, the head of the Catholic Church has become the latest high-profile figure to call for a probe into Tel Aviv’s conduct in Gaza.
In a new book based on his interviews titled Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World, Pope Francis addresses current issues, underscoring the importance of respecting human dignity, Vatican News reported. And in the book, which is set for release on Nov 19, he reportedly says that what is happening in Gaza “has the characteristics of a genocide”.
“It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies,” Vatican News quoted Pope Francis as saying.
This revelation comes after the United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories said on Nov 14 that Israel’s “warfare” in Gaza was “consistent with the characteristics of genocide, with mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians there”.
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Kamaruzaman bin Yusoff, adjunct professor at the Department of Islamic History and Civilization at Universiti Malaya in Malaysia, told China Daily that the pope “is always doing extra work for the betterment of the people of the world” and that he has spoken without fear and favor to put pressure on several international issues, war, and atrocities against women and children.
“This issue is across all religious groups, a humanitarian catastrophe,” Yusoff said.
He said the world courts’ advisory had already called on Israel’s leaders to prevent committing genocide of the Gaza people. The recent actions taken by Israeli leaders “give a more and extensive and further negative impact when they started to bombard Lebanon”, affecting the people tremendously, Yusoff said.
In January, a 17-judge panel of the International Court of Justice declared that Palestinians had a right to be protected from acts of genocide and called on Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent acts which could fall foul of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
The UN Special Committee, in its Nov 14 press release, also said that through Israel’s “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”.
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It noted that since the conflict escalated, Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that “strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life”, decimating essential services, and unleashed an environmental catastrophe that would have lasting health impacts.
“These statements along with the systematic and unlawful interference of humanitarian aid make clear Israel’s intent to instrumentalize life-saving supplies for political and military gains,” it said. The report announced in the press release covers the period from October 2023 to July 2024.
Further, by early 2024, “over 25,000 tons of explosives”, which the committee said was equivalent to two nuclear bombs, had been dropped on Gaza.
Israeli strikes and bombings of medical facilities and makeshift tents in both Gaza and Lebanon have been reported. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that six paramedics were killed at the Islamic Health Authority center in Nabatieh on Nov 17.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society posted on X that it evacuated 15 patients and 16 companions from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, in coordination with the World Health Organization.
Additionally, it said, 15 patients and two companions were evacuated from Al-Awda Hospital to Al-Shifa Hospital, in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Gokhan Batu, an analyst on Israel studies at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Türkiye, told China Daily that the forced evacuation of the northern regions and subsequent displacement of the population to the south, as well as attacks on so-called “safe zones”, had significantly worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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“Israel’s justification of its actions by citing the presence of Hamas and other groups does not alleviate the severe hardships faced by the civilian population. The case at the ICJ, initiated by South Africa, has exposed serious challenges in the enforcement of the court’s provisional orders, indicating a regression in conditions since those orders were issued,” Batu said.
Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Türkiye was cutting all ties with Israel. It was widely reported on Nov 17 that Türkiye had denied Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s plane access to Turkish airspace en route to Azerbaijan where the COP29 climate conference is being held.
Since Oct 7, Batu said, Türkiye has become “one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, escalating its condemnation to tangible sanctions”.
“Despite the tensions between Türkiye and Israel, Türkiye has had to navigate its strong ties with Azerbaijan carefully, ensuring that these relations remain unaffected by external conflicts,” he said.
“Herzog, crucial to the stalled normalization efforts between Türkiye and Israel and known for his moderate stance, has nonetheless endorsed the narrative that there are no innocent civilians in Gaza,” Batu added.
Later on Nov 18, the UN Security Council was set to hold a briefing session on the topic of ending the war in Gaza and securing a lasting peace that will be chaired by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Wafa News reported.
