The head of the Roman Catholic church, Pope Francis has renewed his call for an end to the Hamas-Israel conflict, making a case for the release of hostages and humanitarian aid for Gaza, describing the situation as ‘very serious’.
‘I continue to think about the serious situation in Palestine and in Israel where many people have lost their lives,’ he said after the traditional Angelus prayer at Saint Peter’s Square in Rome.
‘I beg you in the name of God to stop, cease fire,’ he said.
‘I hope all the possibilities are being explored so that a widening of the conflict is absolutely avoided, that the wounded can be helped, and that aid can reach Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is very serious, and that the hostages be immediately released.’
Africa Today News, New York reports that Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, and taking 240 people hostage, according to Israeli authorities, in the deadliest attack in the country’s history.
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Israel has relentlessly bombarded the besieged Gaza Strip in response, killing more than 9,770 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The pope has previously pleaded for an end to the conflict and for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip.
According to the Vatican, he spoke to US President Joe Biden last month about ‘conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace’.
In another report, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Sunday made a surprise visit to the occupied West Bank where he held a meeting with Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas as Israel pressed its war to destroy Hamas that has already claimed thousands of lives.
Africa Today News, New York reports that Blinken arrived in Ramallah under tight security one day after meeting in Jordan with Arab foreign ministers angered by mounting civilian deaths in Gaza, where the Hamas-run health ministry said dozens were killed in a strike on a refugee camp.