VATICAN CITY, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Pope Francis is facing criticism from Jewish groups who are demanding clarifications following his recent comments that were seen as accusing both Hamas and Israel of "terrorism". The remarks were made by the Pope on Wednesday after meeting separately with Jewish relatives of hostages held by Hamas and with Palestinians with family in Gaza.

During his general audience in St. Peter's Square later that day, Pope Francis spoke about the pain he felt from both sides. "This is what wars do. But here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war. This is terrorism," he said, referring to the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel.

The Council of the Assembly of Italian Rabbis (ARI) issued a strongly-worded statement on Thursday, condemning the Pope for "publicly accusing both sides of terrorism". The ARI also accused unnamed "Church leaders" of failing to condemn the Hamas attack and of promoting impartiality by putting the aggressor and the attacked on the same plane.

At a Palestinian news conference, individuals who had met with the Pope conveyed his condemnation of Hamas' actions as terrorism. They also quoted him as saying that "terror should not justify terror" and even using the word "genocide" to describe the situation in Gaza.

According to Israeli tallies, gunmen from Hamas crossed the border fence on Oct. 7, resulting in the death of 1,200 people and the seizure of around 240 hostages. Subsequently, Israeli bombardment has led to the deaths of over 14,000 Gazans, with approximately 40% of them being children, as reported by health authorities in Gaza.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) took to social media to express gratitude to the Pope for meeting the families of hostages and for his continuous calls for their release. However, the AJC also urged the Vatican to provide clarification, stating that later in the day, the Pope described the Israel-Hamas war as "terrorism" while emphasizing that Hamas' actions were acts of terrorism, but Israel's self-defense was not.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a U.S.-based Jewish human rights organization, also called on the Pope "not to forget that all the loss and suffering since October 7th stems from the intolerable actions of Hamas". The organization emphasized that the responsibility for the suffering and loss of both hostage families and civilians in Gaza rests solely on the actions of Hamas, who committed an act of mass murder on October 7th, comparable to the atrocities committed during World War II.

The Italian rabbis raised questions about the value of decades of Jewish-Christian dialogue, expressing disappointment in the Vatican's response of "diplomatic acrobatics" when Jews are attacked.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who has accompanied the Pope on peace missions in Ukraine, defended Francis, stating that the Pope was not equating all parties involved and that he possessed an understanding of the motivations behind the Israeli government's actions.

As the controversy continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how Pope Francis and the Vatican will address the concerns raised by various Jewish groups regarding the portrayal of Hamas and Israel as engaging in "terrorism".