Pope Francis seeks an investigation into the possibility of genocide occurring in Gaza, excerpts released on Sunday of his new book demonstrate.

Pope Francis dedicated a passage of his yet-to-be-published book to the war in Gaza. Recognizing that some experts believe that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza constitutes crimes of genocide, the Pope urges that Israeli action in Gaza “should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.” Israeli ambassador to the Vatican City quickly rejected this claim. Claiming that calling the right to self-defence of Israel in any other way is “singling out the Jewish State,” Ambassador Yaron Sideman stated, “Following today’s report in Vatican News: There was a genocidal massacre on 7 October 2023 of Israeli citizens, and since then, Israel has exercised its right of self-defense against attempts from seven different fronts to kill its citizens.” The ambassador claimed that

Israel still faces an ongoing case of genocide in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). South Africa initiated this case of genocide, although various States from the international community have also filed for intervention, the latter being Bolivia on October 9. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide confirms in Article 1 the State’s obligation to prevent and punish genocide as a crime under international law.

The updated reports of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed the number of verified killings by September 2, 2024, stands at 8,119 Palestinians in Gaza. This event has led to further claims of war crimes such as forced displacement according to human rights organizations. Israel has continuously rejected these claims.