From Brussels on Sunday, Pope Francis expressed his “pain” at the widening conflict in the Middle East and called for an immediate ceasefire in “martyred” Lebanon.
“I continue to follow with pain and concern the widening and intensification of the conflict in Lebanon,” he declared at the end of a mass at the King Baudouin Stadium.
“Lebanon is a message, but right now it’s a martyred message, and this war is having devastating effects on the population,” he continued.
“Too many people continue to die day after day in the Middle East,” he added, as the Israeli army launched massive strikes targeting senior Hezbollah officials and the movement’s weapons sites in southern Lebanon and its stronghold in Beirut.
“I call on all parties to call an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, Gaza, the rest of Palestine and Israel,” said the Argentine pontiff.
Nearly a million people may have been displaced by the Israeli strikes on Lebanon, the largest population displacement in the country’s history, according to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
With AFP
