Pope calls on international community to stop 'terrible escalation' in Lebanon

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) — Pope Francis on Wednesday called on the international community to "make every effort to stop this terrible escalation" after days of intense Israeli airstrikes killed hundreds in Lebanon.

"I am saddened by the news coming out of Lebanon," the pope said at his weekly general audience at the Vatican, voicing hope "that the international community will make every effort to stop this terrible escalation," which he called "unacceptable."

He expressed "closeness" to the Lebanese people, "who have already suffered too much in the recent past."

Israel has launched waves of deadly airstrikes in Lebanon since Monday morning, killing nearly 570 people and injuring over 1,800 others, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.