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."
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