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Pope Francis has called for an investigation into allegations by experts about \u201cgenocide\u201d in\u00a0Gaza.<\/p>\n
In a new book,\u00a0Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World,\u00a0the Catholic leader for the first time suggested that\u00a0Israel’s\u00a0attack on the Gaza Strip could be characterized as a genocide.<\/p>\n
“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide,” he wrote, in extracts published on Sunday in Italy’s La Stampa daily.<\/p>\n
“This should be studied carefully to determine whether (the situation) corresponds to the technical definition formulated by jurists and international organizations.”<\/p>\n
Pope Francis is one of the most high-profile figures on the international scene to imply that Israel’s actions in Gaza could amount to genocide.<\/p>\n
The publication of his remarks came just days after a\u00a0UN committee said Israel’s actions were “consistent with characteristics of genocide”.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0report\u00a0by a United Nations special committee comprised of\u00a0Malaysia, Senegal and Sri Lanka accused Israel\u00a0of using starvation as a weapon of war and\u00a0policies and practices in Gaza that may amount to a “possibility of genocide”.<\/p>\n
The report, released amid ongoing scrutiny of Israel’s military response to the 7 October Hamas attack, highlighted the difficult conditions facing Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, particularly in terms of restricted access to food, water, medical care and shelter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Palestinian health ministry said on Sunday that Israel’s war on Gaza had killed at least 43,846 Palestinians and wounded 103,740 others since October last year. Many thousands more are missing and presumed dead under the rubble.<\/p>\n
A recent UN report said that nearly\u00a070 percent\u00a0of those who had been killed by Israel were women and children.<\/p>\n
The committee accused Israel of “discriminatory” legislation and measures that maintained a near-complete separation of\u00a0Palestinians\u00a0from Israeli settlers, in breach of Article 3 on racial segregation and apartheid\u00a0under the\u00a0International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.<\/p>\n
Israel’s violations of UN Security Council resolutions and orders of the International Court of Justice are “weakening” the international rules-based order, the committee said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n