The Holy Father on Sunday, March 3, appealed for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza that would free Israeli hostages and Palestinians to receive the aid they immediately need, according to Vatican News.
“I carry the pain and suffering of Palestinians and Israelis in my heart,” he said.
Pope Francis also called on all men and women of goodwill to raise their cry for peace.
For “the thousands of dead, the wounded, the displaced, the immense destruction that wreaks pain and suffering on the small and defenseless who see their future compromised," he expressed pain.
“Let us all say: Enough, please!" and he repeated “Stop the war,” during the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square.
He has made similar appeals since the war between Israel and Hamas started on October 7, 2023.
The Holy Father urged continued negotiations for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and throughout the region.
“So that the hostages may be freed and return to their anxiously awaiting loved ones, and so that the civilian population may have safe access to necessary and urgent humanitarian aid," he said.
He reminded: “Don’t forget tormented Ukraine, where many people die every day. It is a place of great sorrow.”
Hamas still holds more than 30 of the 130 Israeli hostages, who are feared dead.
Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 30,000 Palestinians. Thousands are missing. More than 1.3 million people are displaced. Women and children comprise two-thirds.
Yan Egerlund, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, who has just returned from Gaza, said he believes there is now a famine in the north of the territory.
He told the BBC that, because Israel was not opening nearby border crossings to let aid in, a nightmare was happening. He also condemned the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom for selling weapons to Israel.
Jordan and the USA jointly carried out airdrops of aid to Gaza over the weekend. Three planes carried 66 packs containing about 38,000 meals, according to the U.S. Air Force.
Mediators in the Gaza conflict will try to reach a ceasefire agreement in a meeting in Cairo.
The war has killed 30,320 Palestinians and injured 71,533 in Gaza since Israel waged war on Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack on Israel in October. (MTV)
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