The Vatican considers Israel’s response to Hamas disproportionate and calls for an end to the “carnage”: the Israeli reaction

The Vatican Secretary of State, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, assured that Israel’s response to the attack by the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas on 7 October is disproportionate and asked to stop the “carnage” in the Middle East.

“The Holy See has said it from the beginning: on the one hand, a clear and unreserved condemnation of what happened on October 7th. But at the same time also a request for Israel’s right to defense which was invoked to justify this operation be proportionate and certainly with 30,000 deaths it is not“, Parolin denounced while participating in a meeting at the Vatican embassy in Italy on Tuesday evening.

“There is a widespread rumor that we cannot continue like this. We must find other ways to solve the Gaza problemthe problem of Palestine,” he said.

In this context, he urged us “not to lose hope” for a solution to the conflict and stated: “St. Augustine said that hope is based on indignation and courage, I think we’re all outraged for what’s happening, for this carnage “But we must have the courage to move forward and not lose hope because, if we lose hope, we fold our arms.”

Since the beginning of Israeli reprisals against civilian and military targets, The Vatican supported the right to defense, but with proportion to Hamas attacks, mwhile on the other hand the demand continues to reach the so-called “two-state” solution. in the region as well as granting special status to Jerusalem, as well as Tel Aviv’s refusal to stop its offensive.

Hamas’ Health Ministry announced Wednesday that at least 28,576 people have died in the Gaza Strip, mostly women, teenagers and children, since the war began.

The toll includes 103 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, 68,291 people have been injured since October 7, according to the Ministry.

There are also repeated complaints from humanitarian organizations against Doctors Without Borders that life in Gaza takes place in inhumane conditions, with overcrowding, disease, lack of drinking water and sanitation.

“Deplorable” words: the Israeli response

The Israeli embassy to the Holy See on Wednesday called Parolin’s statements “regrettable.”

“This is a deplorable statement. Judging the legitimacy of a war without taking into account ALL (in capitals) relevant circumstances and data inevitably leads to incorrect conclusions“he criticized the legation in a statement.

In this sense, the embassy underlined that Gaza has been transformed by the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas “the largest terrorist base ever seen” and that “a large part of his project was the construction of an unprecedented infrastructure actively supported by the civilian population”.

As for the Israeli army’s response, he claims that it occurredr “in full compliance with international law” and that, “according to available data, for every Hamas militant killed, three civilians lost their lives.”

“It is not enough to condemn the genocidal massacre of October 7 and then point the finger at Israel by referring to its right to existence and self-defense only as a simple duty and without considering the bigger picture,” the embassy concluded.

Parolín made these statements to the press on the occasion of the commemoration of the 95th anniversary of the Lateran Pacts with Italy, which made the Vatican an independent country, in the presence, among others, of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and the Prime Minister Giorgia Melons. authority.

The editorial of L’Osservatore Romano

The Osservatore Romano, the newspaper that reflects the official position of the Vatican, He said in a front-page editorial on Wednesday that for the Vatican the right to defense does not justify a massacre like what is happening in Gaza.

“To the Holy See, The choice of which side to take is always that of the victim. And this is as true for the Israelis massacred in their kibbutz homes as they prepared to celebrate Simchat Torah and the hostages taken from their families, as it is for innocent civilians (a third of them young children) killed during the bombing in Gaza,” the paper read.

“No one can define what is happening in the Strip “collateral damage” of the fight against terrorism. Israel must bring those responsible for the October massacre to justice cannot justify this massacreadds the newspaper, after the words of Cardinal Parolin.