Pope Francis called for “stopping the spiral of revenge” in the Middle East

Pope Francis today made an urgent call to “an immediate ceasefire” in the Middle East and called for the hostages still held by Hamas to be released, and also urged the world to “stop the spiral of revenge” in the region.

From the balcony of the third floor of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, after pronouncing the blessing of the usual Sunday noon Angelus to the crowd that applauded and celebrated him from St. Peter’s Square to the Vatican, Francis recalled that tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel that unleashed the conflict in the region.

“Tomorrow marks one year since the terrorist attack against the population in Israel, to which I renew my closeness. Let us not forget that there are still many hostages in Gazafor which I ask immediate release“said the pontiff.

Francis lamented that since that fatal October 7, 2023, the Middle East “has fallen into disarray.”n increasingly serious suffering with destructive military operations that continue to hit” the Palestinians.

“This population is suffering a lot in Gaza and in the other territories. It is mostly about innocent civilians people who must receive humanitarian aid,” urged the pontiff.

Francis asked “an immediate ceasefire on all fronts” of the war that has broken out, also in Lebanon, invaded by Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah militiamen.

The Hamas attack on October 7 caused 1.205 muertos mostly civilians and 251 hostages. Only 115 were released. Seventy-one remain in the hands of Hamas and a good number are believed to be dead.

Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip has caused in a year of repression almost around 42 thousand dead and 97 thousand injured.

“Let us pray for the Lebanese, especially the inhabitants of the south, forced to leave their villages”, he asked the faithful who listened to him.

Francis called on the international community to “stop the spiral of revenge” and so that “attacks such as those carried out by Iran against Israel are not repeated, because they can precipitate that region into an even bigger war,” according to the EFE agency.

“All nations have the right to exist in peace and security and their territories should not be attacked or invaded. Sovereignty must be respected and guaranteed by dialogue and peace, not by hatred or war.”

“Let us unite with the force of good against the diabolical plots of war,” he concluded.

This afternoon, Francis will lead a day of prayer for peace in the Roman basilica of Santa María Maggiore.