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“And let us not forget the wars that are causing bloodshed in the world!” the Pope urged the faithful, after leading the midday Angelus on September 15, 2024, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
And it was to the mothers like Our Lady that the Holy Father turned his attention:
I think of tormented Ukraine, Myanmar, I think of the Middle East. How many innocent victims. I think of the mothers who have lost their sons in war. How many young lives cut short! I think of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, found dead in September, along with five other hostages in Gaza. In November last year, I met his mother, Rachel, who impressed me with her humanity. I accompany her in this moment. May the conflict in Palestine and Israel cease! May the violence cease! May hatred cease! Let the hostages be released, let the negotiations continue, and let peaceful solutions be found!
The 23-year-old dual American-Israeli citizen was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, while taking part in the Nova music festival in the Negev desert. His parents led an intense international campaign to raise awareness of the situation of their son and the hostages.
In addition to his mother’s participation in the November 22, 2023, meeting at the Vatican, his parents spoke at the Democratic convention in Chicago.
The six hostages had been identified by the Israeli army in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip, after being “killed in cold blood by Hamas,” according to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The deaths came as a huge shock in Israel, where the families of the hostages organized numerous demonstrations to denounce the attitude of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
May hatred cease!
As he has done countless times, the Pope urged the end of the conflict.
“I pray for the victims and I continue to be close to all the families of the hostages. Let the conflict in Palestine and Israel cease. Let the violence cease! May hatred cease! May the hostages be released, may negotiations continue, and may peaceful solutions be found,” urged Pope Francis.
A war that is getting bogged down
This chapter in the long Holy Land conflict, which began with the Hamas offensive on Israel on October 7, 2023, has now entered its 12th month. Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip have claimed many victims.
According to the local Gaza Ministry of Health, the death toll as of September 14, 2024, officially stood at more than 41,200 Palestinians. Last summer, the British journal The Lancet put the death toll at 186,000, which would represent between 7% and 9% of the Gaza Strip’s total population.
On the Israeli side, the authorities put the death toll at around 900 civilians and over 700 security forces.
In addition to the fighting in the Gaza Strip, regular clashes in the West Bank and southern Lebanon continue to raise fears of an extension of the conflict. Mediations led by Qatar and Egypt have led to a few bouts of ceasefires and releases, but without any real prospects for peace.
