ROME — Pope Francis used his strongest language to date in condemning ongoing Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, calling them acts of “terrorism.”

“I continue receiving very serious and sad news about Gaza,” the pontiff said following his weekly Angelus prayer in the Vatican.

“Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire,” he stated. “And this has happened even within the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities, sisters.”

The pope went on to cite a specific case of a mother and her daughter, Nahida Khalil Anton and Samar Kamal Anton, who were allegedly killed in attacks, as well as a damaged generator at “the house of the Sisters of Mother Teresa.”

“Some are saying, ‘This is terrorism and war,’” he declared. “Yes, it is war, it is terrorism. That is why Scripture says that ‘God puts an end to war…the bow he breaks and the spear he snaps’ (cf. Ps 46:9).”

While critics of Israel — including President Joe Biden — have accused Israelis of “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack by the Hamas Palestinian terror group that left over 1,300 dead, recent reports suggest otherwise.

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