Pope Francis on Saturday condemned the bombing of children in Gaza as "cruelty", sparking a sharp response from Israel which accused him of double standards.

The pontiff made his remarks a day after the rescue agency in Gaza said an Israeli air strike had killed seven children from one family.

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

In a statement, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman described the pope’s remarks as “particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism – a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting on October 7.”

“Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people,” he added. “Cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children; cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them,” the Israeli statement said.

Gaza’s civil defence rescue agency reported that an Israeli air strike had killed 10 members of a family on Friday in the northern part of the territory, including seven children.

The Israeli military told AFP it had struck “several terrorists who were operating in a military structure belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation and posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area”. “According to an initial examination, the reported number of casualties resulting from the strike does not align with the information held by the IDF,” it added.