Pope Francis has suggested the global community should study whether Israel’s military campaign in Gaza constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people, in some of his most explicit criticism yet of Israel’s conduct in its year-long offensive, reports. In excerpts published from a new forthcoming book, the pontiff said some international experts say “what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide”. “We should investigate carefully to assess whether this fits into the technical definition (of genocide) formulated by international jurists and organisations,” the pope said in the excerpts, published by Italian daily . Israel has denied all accusations of genocide. The Israeli foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the pope’s remarks.