Pope slams 'cruelty' of Israeli air strike killing Gaza children 

VATICAN CITY, Dec 21: Pope Francis on Saturday condemned the bombing of children in Gaza as "cruelty", a day after the territory's rescue agency said an Israeli air strike killed seven children from one family.

Gaza's civil defence rescue agency reported that an Israeli air strike killed 10 members of a family on Friday in the northern part of the territory, including seven children.

"Yesterday they did not allow the Patriarch (of Jerusalem) into Gaza as promised. Yesterday children were bombed. This is cruelty, this is not war," he told members of the government of the Holy See.
"I want to say it because it touches my heart."

Violence in the Gaza Strip continues to rock the coastal territory more than 14 months into the Israel-Hamas war, even as international mediators work to negotiate a     ceasefire between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants.    —AFP