Francis has not previously described the situation in Gaza as a genocide in public. But last year he was at the centre of a messy dispute after a meeting with a group of Palestinians at the Vatican, who insisted he had used the word with them in private, while the Vatican said he had not.

Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel's attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff's jubilee year.