On Thursday, Israel toned down its criticism of the Vatican, stating that remarks made by Pope Francis’s deputy regarding the killings in Gaza were "regrettable" rather than "shameful." Vatican Foreign Minister Cardinal Pietro Parolin had confirmed on Tuesday that the Israeli military response to the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement "Hamas" was disproportionate and resulted in a "massacre."
On Wednesday, the Israeli embassy to the Vatican criticized Parolin’s "shameful" comments, stating that Hamas bears full responsibility for the killings and destruction in the territory. However, the embassy noted on Thursday that "the term used should have been regrettable and the misunderstanding stemmed from an inaccurate translation."
The Israeli embassy clarified that "the original text of its statement in English used the word regrettable and its staff translated it to shameful in the Italian version released." They further explained that a "more accurate" Italian translation would be a word that conveys something akin to regrettable.
Tensions between the Vatican and Israel have escalated since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, with Jewish groups accusing Pope Francis of failing to describe the invasion of the Palestinian territory as an act of self-defense following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7.
