On Sunday, Pope Francis described the Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon as "unethical" and "disproportionate," noting that their military dominance has exceeded the rules of war. 

His comments came while he was returning to the Vatican from Belgium, in response to a question about Israel's killing of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on Friday in a residential area of Beirut, which turned many buildings into rubble.

Although Francis did not mention Israel by name, he stated that he was making general remarks, saying, "Defense must always be proportional to the attack."

He added, "When there is something disproportionate, there is ... a transgression of ethics. A state that acts in such a disproportionate manner is engaging in unethical acts."

He also mentioned that "even if the war itself is unethical, there are rules during it that indicate certain ethical standards."