Pope Francis received separately at the Vatican on Wednesday relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel, denouncing their suffering.
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“This morning I received two delegations, one from Israelis who have family members hostage in Gaza and another from Palestinians who have family members prisoner in Israel,” the pope said.
“They are suffering so much, I have heard how much they are all suffering. This is what wars produce,” he continued after his traditional general audience on Wednesday at the Holy See.
“But here, we have gone beyond wars, it is not war, it is terrorism,” added the sovereign pontiff, without specifying whether he was referring to the bloody attack carried out on October 7 by the Islamist movement Hamas on Israeli soil, to military operations launched in retaliation by Israel in the Gaza Strip, or to both.
He concluded his statement with a call to pray for peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people.
The Vatican said last week that Francis wanted to express “his spiritual solidarity with the suffering of everyone” during these private meetings, noting their “purely humanitarian nature”.
The Pope recently emphasized that “every human being, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, of any people or religion, every human being is sacred, precious in the eyes of God and has the right to live in peace “.
“The world is listening”
Rachel Goldberg, whose 23-year-old son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was among those kidnapped by Hamas, said she hoped for the pope’s “great influence” in the world.
“He is very respected in the Muslim world, in the Jewish world, regardless of faith. I think that when he speaks, the world really listens,” she said during a press conference with other families following the meeting with the pope, which lasted around twenty minutes.
The families are calling for the Red Cross to be allowed access to the hostages and “we feel that the Holy Father has the necessary influence in the world” to make this happen,” Goldberg said.
The delegation of relatives of Palestinian prisoners is due to address the press early this afternoon.
Many capitals on Wednesday welcomed the agreement concluded under the aegis of Qatar for the release of 50 hostages in the hands of Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a four-day truce in the Gaza Strip.
Around 240 people were kidnapped during the October 7 attack on the small Palestinian territory against Israel by Hamas.
Israel vowed to “annihilate” the Palestinian Islamist movement after this attack which left 1,200 dead, the vast majority civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
Israeli retaliatory strikes in Gaza left more than 14,100 dead, including more than 5,800 children, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.