Pope Francis called this Wednesday for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas and was “very concerned” about the siege of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces.
“I ask that the hostages be released immediately,” Francis said at the end of the weekly general audience at the Vatican, quoted by the French agency AFP.
“Whoever is attacked has the right to defend himself, but I am very concerned about the total siege in which the Palestinians live in Gaza, where there are also many innocent victims,” declared the head of the Catholic Church.
“I follow with pain and concern what is happening in Israel and Palestine, with so many deaths and injuries. I pray for the families who saw a day of celebration transformed into a day of mourning,” he said.
Francis stressed that “terrorism and extremism do not help find a solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, but instead fuel hatred, violence, revenge and only make each other suffer.”
“The Middle East does not need war, but peace. A peace built on justice, dialogue and the value of fraternity,” the Pope concluded.
Francis constantly monitors what is happening in Gaza and on Tuesday he spoke with the parish priest of the only Catholic church in the region, the Argentine priest Gabriel Romanelli, who is currently in Belém and in constant contact with the faithful.
Ramanelli said that the Pope “expressed his closeness and his prayers” in the face of the serious events occurring in the region.
“We thank you for your call for a ceasefire and against all violence, all terrorism and all war,” said the Argentine parish priest.
The Islamist group Hamas launched an unprecedented land, sea and air attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, in the largest escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in decades.
In addition to killing hundreds of people in Israel, Hamas has kidnapped more than a hundred Israelis and foreigners and is holding them hostage in the Gaza Strip.
The attack prompted Israel to declare war on the Palestinian extremist group and respond with bombings against the Gaza Strip.
Since then, the conflict has caused more than 1,200 deaths on the Israeli side and 950 in Gaza since Saturday, according to data updated today by both sides.
Source: TSF
