Pope Francis met on Monday relatives of several Israelis taken hostage by Hamas in the October 7 attacks, the Vatican said.
The 87 year-old Argentinian pontiff previously met a group of relatives of hostages at the Vatican in November. On the same day, he met Palestinians who have family in Gaza.
Members of five Israeli families had a private audience with Pope Francis on Monday. They showed him posters of loved ones who were taken, including Ariel and Kfir Bibas, aged four and one respectively.
There were also relatives of hostages Tamir Nimrodi, 19, Guy Gilboa Dalal, 22, Agam Berger, 19, and Omri Miran, 46.
The pope repeated his call for peace on Sunday after having delivered his weekly Angelus prayer at the Vatican.
“Let us always pray for peace, a just, lasting peace, in particular for martyred Ukraine and for Palestine and Israel,” he said.
“May the spirit of the risen Lord enlighten and support those who work to reduce tension and favor the gestures that make negotiations possible.”
The Israelis were in Italy as part of a delegation that included Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Katz met his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, on Sunday, the six-month anniversary of the Hamas attack in southern Israel.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have taken more than 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, 129 of whom remain in Gaza. The Israeli army says that 34 hostages are dead.
With AFP
