Pope Francis condemned, on Saturday, an Israeli airstrike that killed seven children from the same family in the Jabalia camp in the Gaza Strip, describing the crime as barbaric.

"Yesterday, children were bombed. This is barbarity. This is not war. I wanted to say that because it touches the heart," he said during his annual Christmas address.

In excerpts from a book published in November, Pope Francis called for a “careful study” into whether the situation in Gaza “meets the technical definition” of genocide.