Pope "Tragedy in Gaza, disgraceful" ...Israel "Attacks are an act of defense."

Pope Francis has stepped up his criticism of Israel's attack on the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

The pope condemned the humanitarian situation in Palestine as "very serious and shameful" in his address to the New Year's Church of the Holy See at the Vatican on the 9th local time.

At the same time, he said bombing civilians was unacceptable in any case and that it was unacceptable for hospitals to be destroyed and a country's energy network to be attacked, causing children to freeze to death.

Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a statement shortly after the pope's remarks, saying airstrikes in Gaza are a defense of Hamas' atrocities and do not target Jewish countries and Jewish people with double standards.

Amid a delay in a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Palestinian militant Hamas, Gaza has seen a series of cases of babies dying from the cold.

Previous popes, as the head of the Catholic Church, have generally not sided with international disputes and have emphasized the easing of fundamental tensions.

However, Pope Francis has made a series of unprecedentedly straightforward remarks, saying Israel's retribution against Hamas and Hezbollah is excessive.