Ramping up criticism of Israel, Pope calls situation in Gaza 'shameful'

In a yearly address to diplomats delivered on his behalf by an aide, Pope Francis appeared to reference deaths caused by winter cold in Gaza, where there is almost no electricity.

"𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬," the text said.

"𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲'𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐭."

The pope, 88, who was present for the address but asked an aide to read it as he is recovering from a cold, also condemned anti-Semitism; called for an end to the war in Ukraine and other conflicts around the world; and expressed concern over climate change.

The comments were part of an address to Vatican-accredited envoys from some 184 countries that is sometimes called the pope's "state of the world" speech. The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See was among those present for the event.

Pope Francis, leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts.

But he has recently been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas, and has suggested the global community should study whether the offensive constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.

An Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff in December for that suggestion.

The pope's text said he condemns anti-Semitism, and called the growth of anti-Semitic groups "a source of deep concern".

Pope Francis also called for an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has killed tens of thousands.

"My wish for the year 2025 is that the entire international community will work above all to end the conflict that, for almost three years now, has caused so much bloodshed," he said.

The pope also addressed conflicts in places including Sudan, Mozambique, Myanmar, and Nicaragua and reiterated his frequent calls for action to confront the impacts of global climate change, and the spread of misinformation on social media.