Pope Francis on Sunday condemned
Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, blasting their "cruelty"
during his weekly Angelus prayer.
"With pain I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty, of the children
who are machine-gunned, of the bombings of schools and hospitals
- how much cruelty", said the pontiff.
Francis also asked for a "ceasefire" on all fronts for the
Christmas holidays.
The pope had launched the same message on Saturday, prompting
Israel to accuse him of having "double standards".
Speaking during his Christmas address to the Catholic cardinals
who head the Vatican's departments, the pontiff on Saturday said
"this is cruelty, this is not a war", "I want to say this
because it touches the heart", in an apparent reference to
deadly Israeli strikes on Friday.
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