Pope Francis appealed this Monday at the end of military operations in Gazathe release of hostages and to address the Palestinian issuein his Christmas message, which he read on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican.
In this Christmas message, in which he listed the world’s conflicts, Pope Francis asked that peace “come to Israel and Palestine, where war shakes the lives of these populations” and added: “I embrace both, in particular the Christian communities of Gaza, the parish of Gaza and the entire Holy Land”.
The leader of the Catholic Church said that “he carries in his heart the pain for the victims of the execrable attack of last October 7″without mentioning the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, and renewed his call “to the liberation of those who are still hostages”.
“I pray that military operations, with their dramatic consequences for innocent civilian victims, cease and that the desperate humanitarian situation be remedied, allowing aid to arrive,” Pope Francis said.
On the other hand, The pontiff asked “that violence and hatred not continue to be fueledbut that a solution be found to the Palestinian question, through a sincere and persevering dialogue between the parties, supported by a strong political will and the support of the international community.
On Sunday, the wife of Israel’s prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu]Sara Netanyahu sent an open letter to Pope Francis requesting his “personal intervention” and “his influence” for the release of 129 hostages who are still detained, considering that the pontiff’s intervention could be decisive in saving the lives of these people.
On November 22, Francis received a group of relatives of some hostages held by the Hamas group and called for a new truce so that everyone could be released, having also met with people close to the Palestinians imprisoned in Gaza.
During his Christmas message, the Pope once again called for an end to the war in Ukraine, Syria and Yemen, as well as an end to tensions between the two Koreas and in Sudan, South Sudan, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The leader of the Catholic Church also defended the end of weapons production and criticized the allocation of huge amounts of public funds for weapons.
“But to say no to war it is necessary to say no to weapons. Because if a man, whose heart is unstable and wounded, finds in his hands instruments of death, sooner or later he will use them. How can I say it? Of peace if increases the production, sale and trade of weapons?” asked Pope Francis.
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack against southern Israel on October 7 with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed militiamen, taking two hundred hostages.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, a movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and is classified as terrorist by the European Union and the United States.
Source: TSF
