On Thursday at the Vatican, Pope Francis met with a group of men, women and children held hostage by Hamas and gave them his blessing. The Israeli embassy to the Holy See described the meeting as “emotional” and said it “shows the closeness of Pope Francis to the victims.”
vatican city
Vatican City, Friday, November 15, 2024 (Rei, Vatican Radio): On Thursday at the Vatican, Pope Francis met with a group of men, women and children held hostage by Hamas and gave them his blessing. The Israeli embassy to the Holy See described the meeting as “emotional” and said it “shows the closeness of Pope Francis to the victims.”
A group of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023 met with the Pope at the Vatican on Thursday after months of captivity in Gaza. Among them were ten women, four men and two children. One of those present gave the Pope a soccer jersey with the name “Tal Shoham.” The man was taken hostage along with his wife, children, mother-in-law and other relatives.
emotional encounter
Those who met the Pope on Thursday were those who had been released under a temporary ceasefire agreement reached by Qatar, Egypt and the United States. Many participants in the meeting held signs showing the faces and names of their missing or detained relatives and saying: “Bring them back home.”
Pope Francis touched each image in blessing and paused in silent prayer. The Israeli embassy to the Holy See described the meeting as “emotional” and stated that it “demonstrates the Pope’s closeness to the victims of that terrible day and his commitment to the release of the hostages.”
The Pope’s calls for peace
Since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, Pope Francis has consistently used his public speeches to call for the immediate release of the hostages captured in the attack. He also called for a ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian access to affected people.
He called the release of the hostages and humanitarian access to the people of Gaza an essential step in ending the devastating conflict and violence that has erupted since the Hamas-led offensive. It should be noted that this Hamas attack caused more than 1,100 deaths and 240 people, including women, the elderly and children, were kidnapped.
Meanwhile, Israel’s armed offensive against Gaza in retaliation for Hamas attacks is said to have killed at least 43,700 people.
