Pope Francis urged for an end to the Hamas-Israel conflict. He insisted on more humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, stating that war defeats human fraternity.
Pope Francis pleaded Sunday for an end to the Hamas-Israel conflict amid fears it could widen and called for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip.
“War is always a defeat. It is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop! Stop!” Francis said after his traditional Angelus prayer in Rome’s Saint Peter’s Square.
“I renew my call for spaces to be opened, for humanitarian aid to continue to arrive, and for hostages to be freed,” the 86-year-old pontiff said.
Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people. Israel’s retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, and reduced swathes of densely populated Gaza to smoldering ruins.
The alarm has grown about a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel has cut off water, food and power. A first trickle of aid entered the besieged Strip on Saturday. Still, UN officials said the 20 trucks permitted to cross were not enough given the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation for 2.4 million people.
Gabriela De La Cruz, with AFP
