'This is cruelty'; Pope Francis slams Israel

Pope Francis has called out Israel for bombing children on Christmas day, saying, "This is cruelty. This is not war.”

The head of the Catholic Church took time out from his Christmas address to call for "arms to be silenced" around the world in his Christmas address, appealing for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan as he denounced the "extremely grave" humanitarian situation in Gaza.

He used his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and the world") message to the world's 1.4 billion Catholics to call for talks for just peace in Ukraine as the country was pummelled by 170 Russian missiles and drones on Christmas morning.

"May the sound of arms be silenced in war-torn Ukraine," the 88-year-old pontiff said, his voice strained and breathless. "May there be the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation and to gestures of dialogue and encounter in order to achieve a just and lasting peace."

In front of thousands of the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Pope also appealed for a ceasefire in Gaza and for the freeing of the hostages.

"I think of the Christian communities in Israel and Palestine, particularly in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely grave. May there be a ceasefire, may the hostages be released and aid be given to the people worn out by hunger and by war," he stressed.

Francis extended his call for a silencing of arms to the whole Middle East and to Sudan, which has been ravaged by 20 months of brutal civil war where millions are under the threat of famine.

"May the Son of the Most High sustain the efforts of the international community to facilitate access to humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Sudan and to initiate new negotiations for a ceasefire," he said.

Christians across the world celebrated Christmas on Wednesday, with the mood darkened by wars. 

With the genocide in Gaza also showing no signs of ending, Pope Francis was expected to call for peace in the Middle East during his traditional "Urbi et Orbi"  speech at midday in Rome, which he did eventually, as he recounted in his address, “Yesterday they didn’t let the Patriarch [of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa] enter Gaza as they had promised & yesterday children were bombed. This is cruelty. This is not war.”