The Catholic Church pontiff made his most explicit criticism yet of Israel’s conduct in extracts from an upcoming book.

Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, tackling the issue for the first time in excerpts from an upcoming book.

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope said in excerpts published on Sunday by the Italian daily La Stampa.

“We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies,” he added.

The book, by Hernan Reyes Alcaide and based on interviews with the pope, is entitled Hope Never Disappoints: Pilgrims towards a Better World. It will be released on Tuesday ahead of the pope’s 2025 yearlong jubilee, which is expected to bring more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome to celebrate.

The Argentine pontiff has frequently deplored the number of victims of Israel’s war in Gaza, where the death toll stands at 43,846 people, most of them civilians, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health.

But his call for a probe marks the first time he has publicly used the term “genocide”, albeit without endorsing its use, in the context of the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

Israel’s embassy to the Vatican responded later on Sunday with a post on X, quoting its Ambassador Yaron Sideman.

“There was a genocidal massacre on 7 October 2023 of Israeli citizens, and since then, Israel has exercised its right of self-defence against attempts from seven different fronts to kill its citizens,” said the statement.

“Any attempt to call it by any other name is singling out the Jewish State.”

But campaigners and Palestinian supporters have dubbed the Israeli offensive as a “war of vengeance” that has left the Gaza Strip in ruins.

Stepping up criticism

The war in Gaza has triggered several legal cases at international courts in The Hague involving requests for arrest warrants as well as accusations and denials of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

On Thursday, a United Nations Special Committee judged Israel’s conduct of warfare in Gaza “consistent with the characteristics of genocide”, accusing the country of “using starvation as a method of war”.

Its conclusions have already been condemned by Israel’s key backer, the United States.

South Africa brought a genocide case before the International Court of Justice with the support of several countries, including Turkey, Spain and Mexico. In January, the judges at the court ordered Israel to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts. The court has not yet ruled on the core of the case – whether genocide has occurred in Gaza.

Pope Francis, leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church, is usually careful not to take sides in international conflicts, and to stress de-escalation. But he has stepped up his criticism of Israel’s conduct in its war against Palestinians.

In September, he decried the killings of Palestinian children in Israeli strikes in Gaza. He also sharply criticised Israel’s air strikes in Lebanon as going “beyond morality”.

Francis has not previously described the situation in Gaza as a genocide in public. But last year, he was at the centre of a messy dispute after a meeting with a group of Palestinians at the Vatican, who insisted he had used the word with them in private, while the Vatican said he had not.

Francis has also frequently called for the return of the Israeli captives taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Of the 251 people taken that day, 97 are still held in the Palestinian territory, including 34 the Israeli army says are dead.

On Thursday, the pontiff received 16 former captives who were freed after months of detention in Gaza.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies