AntiWar.com is reporting: “Israeli Attacks Kill 38 Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours” and “Israel’s Ben Gvir Says U.S. Republicans Support His Plan To Bomb Food in Gaza.” They quote the Israeli minister: “They expressed support for my very clear position on how to act in Gaza and that the food and aid warehouses should be bombed in order to create military and political pressure to bring our hostages home safely.”
Haaretz reports: “Killing of Gaza Aid Workers: IDF Troops Fired Indiscriminately for Over Three Minutes, Some at Point-blank Range.”
The media watch group FAIR just published “Pope Francis Obits Omit Focus on Palestine.”
In the piece “Pope Francis’s Legacy of Love And Peace,” Kelly writes: “’Yesterday, children were bombed,’ Pope Francis said in his final Christmas message last December. ‘Children. This is cruelty, this is not war.’ He added, touching the cross he wore around his neck, ‘I want to say this, because it touches my heart.’
“Pope Francis was speaking about the children of Gaza, who have been orphaned, maimed, sickened, starved, forcibly displaced, traumatized, and buried under fire and rubble. In excerpts from the book Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World, published in November 2024, he was blunt about Israel’s accountability, writing: ‘What is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide. It should be investigated to determine whether it meets the definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.’
“On Easter, the day before his death, Pope Francis expressed in a written message: ‘I appeal to the warring parties: Call a ceasefire, release the hostages, and come to the aid of a starving people that aspire to a future of peace!’
“During the current war, beginning in 2023, Pope Francis developed a strong relationship with parishioners of the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza. By holding virtual gatherings with the hundreds of people sheltering in the church, he was able to stay in daily touch with the realities they faced under Israel’s siege and bombardment. On days when he learned that the bombing was particularly heavy, Pope Francis would call to check in on them as many as five times a day.”