Pope Francis asked this Monday Cessation of military operations in Gaza, release of hostages And confronting the Palestinian issueIn the Christmas message he read before the ‘urbi et orbi’ blessing from the façade balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis asked for peace in this message, listing the conflicts in the world.Arriving in Israel and Palestine“where war shook the lives of these people” and added: “I embrace both, especially the Christian communities in Gaza, the Gaza community and the entire Holy Land.”
Pope assured “We feel in our hearts the pain of the victims of the disgusting attack last October 7.” He reiterated his call for “the release of those still held hostage”, although he did not mention Hamas Islamists.
And he continued: “I ask that military operations with dramatic consequences resulting in innocent civilian victims be stopped and that the desperate humanitarian situation be remedied by allowing aid to arrive.”
On the other hand, he made the following call: stop inciting violence and hatred“However, a solution to the Palestine issue will be found through sincere and permanent dialogue between the parties, supported by strong political will and the support of the international community.”
This Sunday, Sara Netanyahu, wife of the Israeli Prime Minister, sent an open letter to Pope Francis, saying:u “personal intervention” And “His influence” in the release of 129 hostages still detainedbecause he thought that the pope’s intervention might be decisive in saving their lives.
On November 22, Francis received relatives of some hostages held by Hamas and called for a new ceasefire so that they could all be released, as well as holding talks with people close to Palestinians trapped in Gaza.
In his message, he also called for an end to the war in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, or an end to tensions in the two Koreas and Sudan, South Sudan, Cameroon or the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He called for a halt to arms production and criticized the allocation of large amounts of public funds to weapons.
“But to say no to war, it is necessary to say no to weapons. Because if the man whose heart is unstable and wounded finds the instruments of death in his hands, sooner or later he will use them. So how can we talk about peace if the production, sale and trade of weapons increases?“Francisco observed.