The Vatican’s ambassador in "Israel" was summoned to the Israeli Foreign Ministry after Pope Francis criticized the "cruelty" of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, Israeli media outlets reported on Wednesday.

The Ynet news website reported that Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana was summoned for a meeting with Foreign Ministry Director General Eyal Bar-Tal on Tuesday. During the meeting, Bar-Tal condemned the Pope's remarks but did not issue a formal reprimand to Yllana.

On Saturday, Pope Francis denounced the bombing of children in Gaza as an act of "cruelty", following a report from the territory's rescue agency that an Israeli airstrike had killed seven children from the same family.

Gaza's Civil Defense reported that an Israeli airstrike on Friday in the northern region of the territory killed 10 members of a family, including seven children.

"Yesterday they did not allow the Patriarch (of Jerusalem) into Gaza as promised. Yesterday children were bombed. This is cruelty, this is not war," he told members of the government of the Holy See, adding, "I want to say it because it touches my heart." 

Since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, the Pope has consistently called for "peace". However, in recent weeks, he has adopted a firmer stance against Israeli actions.

Last month, the Vatican News cited Pope Francis as writing in his forthcoming book that the allegations of genocide committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinians “should be carefully investigated.”

According to local authorities and the UN, more than 45,000 people have been martyred in Gaza since October 2023, and nearly 90% of the enclave's residents have been displaced.