Asked about Israel’s strike to eliminate the Hezbollah leader, Pope Francis said that ‘even in war, there is morality to be safe-guarded.’ Pope Francis spoke on Sunday with reporters on board his flight back to Rome from Belgium and answered questions about various subjects including the elimination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

One reporter asked the pontiff: “We read this morning that 900 kg bombs were used for the targeted assassination of Nasrallah. There are more than a thousand displaced, many dead. Do you think that Israel has perhaps gone too far with Lebanon and Gaza? And how can this be resolved? Is there a message for these people there?”

Francis answered: Every day I call the parish of Gaza. More than 600 people are there, inside the parish and the college, and they tell me about the things that are happening, including the cruelties that are occurring there.

“What you are telling me—I didn’t quite understand how things have been (evolving, ed.)—but defense must always be proportionate to the attack. When there is something disproportionate, a domineering tendency that goes beyond morality is evident. A country that, with its forces, does these things—I’m talking about any country—that does these things in such a ‘superlative’ way, these are immoral actions.”

The Pope added: “Even in war, there is morality to be safe-guarded. War is immoral, but the rules of war indicate some morality. But when this is not respected, you can see—as we say in Argentina—the “bad blood” of these things.

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