POPE CALLS OUT 'USELESS SLAUGHTER' IN PALESTINE

Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, has spoken out against the ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza by Israeli forces, humanising the victims by saying the world needs to look them in the eye to see the ugliness of war.

This is a significant message coming from the spiritual leader of around 1.3 billion church members worldwide, 256 million of them in Africa alone.

Africa has added the greatest number of Catholics to the church's membership over the years, according to Vatican statistics. Pope Francis has also given more pastoral attention to Africa recently, making a visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo—heavily Catholic—and South Sudan in early 2023.

Pope Francis' message also coincides with the start of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 11-12 January. South Africa filed a case on grounds that Israel is violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

As of press time, a total of 23,357 Palestinians and 1,139 Israelis have been killed since 7 October. Israel declared a total blockade of Gaza, cutting off food, water, electricity and medical supplies, in violation of Geneva Conventions that prohibit collective punishment of civilians during war. That is an escalation of a blockade that began in 2007. Israel also has routinely bombed schools, hospitals, refugee centres and residential buildings, in what it says are operations to eliminate Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

What do you think of the pope's message? Let us know in the comments.