(Vatican City) Pope Francis deplored on Saturday “the terrible increase in attacks against Jews throughout the world” as well as the rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism since October 7 and the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“We Catholics, together with you, are very concerned about the terrible increase in attacks against Jews throughout the world,” writes the Argentine pope in a letter addressed to his “Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel” and made public by the Vatican.
The war between Israel and Hamas “has produced divisions in world public opinion which sometimes transform into forms of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism,” the Pope continues.
The Catholic Church “refuses all forms of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, unequivocally condemns any manifestation of hatred against Jews and Judaism which is a sin against God,” assures Francis.
However, the Argentine pope does not forget the Palestinian people.
“My heart is close to you, to the Holy Land, to all the peoples who inhabit it, Israeli and Palestinian, and I pray that the desire for peace will be strongest among all,” the pope added.
Deploring “the tragedy like that which has occurred in recent months”, Pope Francis invited “to pray especially for the return of the hostages” held by Hamas in their homes.
Less than a month ago, Francis once again condemned “all forms of terrorism and extremism” and called for “the immediate release of all hostages in Gaza.”
Jorge Bergoglio also added that Israel’s “strong military response” had “caused a humanitarian crisis of exceptional gravity and inconceivable suffering.”
The war was sparked on October 7 by an unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas commandos from the neighboring Gaza Strip on Israeli soil, which killed more than 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to a count by the AFP based on official Israeli data.
In response to the attack, Israel vowed to “annihilate” Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007, and launched a military offensive that left 27,238 people dead, the vast majority civilians, according to a latest report. report on Saturday from the Hamas Ministry of Health.