Pope 'pained' by broken Gaza truce

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 3 - Pope Francis said Sunday he was "pained" by the broken Gaza truce and stressed the importance of finding a new hostage-swap deal between Israel and Hamas.
    "In Israel and Palestine, the situation is grave," Francis said at the weekly Angelus prayer, in an appeal read in his place by Monsignor Paolo Braida because he is still feeling the after-effects of a bad bout of bronchitis. "It pains us that the truce has been broken: this means death, destruction and misery.
    "Many hostages have been freed, but many are still in Gaza. We think of them, of their families who had seen a light, a hope of re-embracing their loved ones".
    Francis went on: "There is so much suffering in Gaza, there is a lack of basic necessities, and I hope that all those involved can reach a new ceasefire agreement as soon as possible and find solutions other than arms, trying to take courageous paths of peace." (ANSA).