By Deutsche Welle
Mar 31, 2024, 18:20 PM EDT
Pope Francis repeated this Sunday, March 31, his call for the release of the Israeli hostages and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, at a time when a new round of negotiations for a truce between Israel and Hamas begins.
“I reiterate the call to guarantee the possibility of humanitarian aid access to Gaza, urging again the rapid release of the hostages kidnapped on October 7, and an immediate ceasefire in the Strip,” said the Argentine pontiff in his Holy Week message in the Vatican.
“War is always a defeat and an absurdity”
The Pope also lamented the situation of the civilian population in the Palestinian enclave. “How much suffering we see in his eyes. With those eyes they ask us: Why? Why all this death? Why all this destruction?,” he lamented. War is always “a defeat” and “an absurdity.”
May the light of the resurrection illuminate our minds and convert our hearts, making us aware of the value of all human life, which must be welcomed, protected and loved. Happy Easter everyone! https://t.co/P5j7H0KtFX
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex_es) March 31, 2024
He also requested that prisoners of war held in both Russia and Ukraine be released.
“In asking that the principles of international law be respected, I express my hope in a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine for the good of all,” Francis declared before some 60,000 faithful.
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