Pope Francis today called for an end to military operations in Gaza, for the release of hostages and for the Palestinian issue to be addressed, in 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 on October 07th”, without mentioning the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, and renewed his call “for the release of those who are still held hostage”.
“I beg that military operations cease, with their dramatic consequences for innocent civilian victims, and that the desperate humanitarian situation be remedied, allowing aid to arrive”, said Pope Francis.
On the other hand, the pontiff asked “that violence and hatred should not continue to be fueled, but that a solution be found to the Palestinian issue, through a sincere and persevering dialogue between the parties, supported by a strong political will and the support from the international community.”
On Sunday, the wife of the Prime Minister of Israel [Benjamin Netanyahu], Sara Netanyahu, sent an open letter to Pope Francis requesting his “personal intervention” and “his influence” for the release of 129 hostages still being held, as he considered that the pontiff's intervention could be decisive in saving the lives of these people.
On November 22, Francisco received a group of family members of some hostages held by the Hamas group and asked 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 or the Democratic Republic of 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 you have to say no to weapons. Because if the man, whose heart is unstable and is wounded, finds instruments of death in his hands, sooner or later, he will use them. How can we talk about peace if the production, sale and trade of weapons increases?”, asked Pope Francis.
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 07 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.
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