International Desk

Pope Francis on Saturday condemned the bombing of children in Gaza as "cruelty", sparking a sharp response from Israel which accused him of double standards.

The pontiff made his remarks a day after the rescue agency in Gaza said an Israeli air strike had killed seven children from one family.

"Yesterday they did not allow the Patriarch (of Jerusalem) into Gaza as promised," the pope told members of the government of the Holy See.

"Yesterday children were bombed. This is cruelty, this is not war.

"I want to say it because it touches my heart."

In a statement, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman described the pope's remarks as "particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel's fight against jihadist terrorism -- a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting on October 7."

"Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people," he added.

"Cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children; cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them," the Israeli statement said.

This was a reference to the Palestinian Hamas militants who attacked Israel, killed many civilians and took hostages on October 7, 2023, triggering the Gaza war.

- Tougher line -

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

The Israeli military told AFP it had struck "several terrorists who were operating in a military structure belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation and posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area".

"According to an initial examination, the reported number of casualties resulting from the strike does not align with the information held by the IDF," it added.

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.

Francis, 88, has called for peace since the war started. In recent weeks he has hardened his remarks against the Israeli offensive.

In late November he said "the invader's arrogance... prevails over dialogue" in "Palestine", a rare position that contrasts with the tradition of neutrality of the Holy See.

In a recently published book the pope called for a "careful" study as to whether the situation in Gaza "corresponds to the technical definition" of genocide, an accusation firmly rejected by Israel.

Since 2013 the Holy See has recognised the State of Palestine, with which it maintains diplomatic relations, and it supports the two-state solution.

The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Hamas militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 96 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 45,206 people, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.