Pope Francis acknowledged the suffering of Palestinian prisoners of war in Israel and Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip and called for people to gather in St. Peter’s Square to pray for peace between the countries at war.
The 86-year-old pope made the announcement at the end of his weekly audience at the Vatican, where he received two delegations. “One Israeli who has relatives held hostage in Gaza, and one Palestinian who has relatives held captive in Israel.”
He said, “They are suffering a lot, and I have heard how they are suffering.”
“War brings this, but here we are beyond war. This is not war, this is terrorism,” he said, but on October 7th, the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel. He did not specify whether he was referring to the attack on Israel, the Israeli military operation in Gaza launched in response, or both.
The Pope’s latest statement is that “all human beings, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, of any ethnicity or religion, are sacred, precious in the sight of God, and have the right to live in peace.” Quoted from. remarks.
After weeks of all-out war, Israel and Hamas on Wednesday announced a deal that would free dozens of Palestinian prisoners and at least 50 hostages, while also giving besieged Gaza residents a four-day reprieve.
Source: dailypost.ng