The Israeli government on Thursday extended its condolences over the death of Pope Francis, three days after the 88-year-old passed away.
"The State of Israel expresses its deepest condolences to the Catholic Church and the Catholic community worldwide at the passing of Pope Francis," said a post from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. "May he rest in peace."
Relations between Israel and the Vatican have deteriorated significantly since the war in Gaza.
Francis repeatedly criticized Israel's relentless attacks on the Palestinian enclave, where around 1,000 Christians also live.
He suggested last November that the global community should study whether Israel's military campaign constitutes genocide of the Palestinian people.
In January, the pope also called the humanitarian situation in Gaza "shameful," prompting criticism from Rome's chief Jewish rabbi, who accused Francis of "selective indignation."
Shortly after Francis' death was announced on Monday, the verified @Israel account used by the government on social media platform X shared a message offering condolences over the pope's death but then deleted it without saying why, though an Israeli newspaper linked the decision to the late pontiff's criticism of the war in Gaza.
The Jerusalem Post quoted officials at the foreign ministry as saying that the pope had made "statements against Israel" and that the post had been published in "error."
Most major nations will be sending heads of state or government, or royalty, to the pope's funeral on Saturday, but Israel will be represented only by its ambassador to the Vatican, the Times of Israel reported.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed his condolences to Christians immediately after the pope's death became public.
Herzog described Francis as "a man of deep faith and boundless compassion."
Netanyahu had not commented on the pope's death as of Thursday evening.
Israel has killed more than 51,000 people in Gaza since the war started on Oct. 7, 2023, after Palestinian resistance group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
Most of the Gaza Strip's population of 2.3 million has been displaced.
Francis was usually careful during his 12-year pontificate about taking sides in conflicts, and he condemned the growth of antisemitic groups, while also speaking by phone with Gaza's tiny Christian community every evening during the war.
