Pope suggests formal probe into Israel's military actions in Gaza

Pope Francis wants experts to check if Israelʼs military response in Gaza fits legal genocide criteria‚ based on his new book-interview (which comes out pretty soon). In private talks he already used this heavy word to describe whats happening - thatʼs what Washington Post wrote about some time ago

The head of Catholic Church made these comments while talking to writer Hernán Reyes Alcaide: its his first open statement asking for such investigation. The pontiffs thoughts appear in Italian paper La Stampa which got early book parts to share with readers

The timing of Pope Francisʼ statement is important - heʼs known for speaking up on big world issues but this time he went further than before. His words show how the church leader thinks about mid-east events: hes carefully choosing when and how to speak about such sensitive topics