Pope Francis calls 'disproportionate defense' immoral

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Asked about using large bombs to kill Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Pope Francis told reporters on Sunday that even in war, morality should be protected.

"Even in war, there is morality to be safe-guarded. War is immoral, but the rules of war indicate some morality..." Pope Francis said, as reported by Vatican News

Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than 30 years, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a residential neighborhood of Beirut on Friday.

"When there is something disproportionate, a domineering tendency that goes beyond morality is evident," Pope Francis said. "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."

Eleven people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in the Israeli airstrike on Friday, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a news conference on Saturday afternoon.

The strike was carried out moments after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying “enough is enough.”

The Pope said though he calls "the parish of Gaza" every day and they inform him of "the cruelties that are occurring ... I didn't quite understanding how things have been (evolving, ed.)."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a situation overview on Saturday that it "is the most intense Israeli strike since the 2006 in Lebanon, completely leveling dozens of buildings." 

OCHA, citing the National Disaster Risk Management (DRM) dashboard, also reported more than 115,000 people in 660 shelters - 20,000 more than before the strike.

"[B]ut defense must always be proportionate to the attack," Pope Francis said.

The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has intensified since October 7, when Palestinian Hamas militants launched a large-scale incursion into southern Israel, killing more than 1,170 people, according to Israeli figures. Israel responded with a massive ongoing offensive on Gaza, killing over 40,000 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry.