Pope Francis on Wednesday met separately with Israeli relatives of Hamas hostages and Palestinians with family in Gaza, while warning the ongoing conflict could result in "a mountain of dead".

At the end of his weekly audience at the Vatican, the 86-year-old pontiff called for prayers for peace, saying of both groups: "They suffer so much and I heard how they both suffer."

"Wars do this, but here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war, this is terrorism," he added, without specifying whether he was referring to the October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas or Israel's military operation in Gaza launched in response, or both.

The Vatican said last week the pope hoped to show his "spiritual closeness" during the private meetings, which it said would be "exclusively humanitarian in nature".

QOSHE - Pope warns of 'mountain of dead' in Mideast after meeting Israelis, Palestinians - By Ella Ide
menu_open
Columnists Actual . Favourites . Archive
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close
Aa Aa Aa
- A +

Pope warns of 'mountain of dead' in Mideast after meeting Israelis, Palestinians

3 0
22.11.2023

Pope Francis on Wednesday met separately with Israeli relatives of Hamas hostages and Palestinians with family in Gaza, while warning the ongoing conflict could result in "a mountain of dead".

At the end........

© Al Monitor

Get it on Google Play