Pope meets relatives of Israeli hostages, Palestinian prisoners

By Giada Zampano

ROME (AA) - Pope Francis met on Wednesday separately with relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners in Israel and called for an end to what he defined “terrorism.”

"This morning I received two delegations, one of Israelis with relatives who are hostages in Gaza and another of Palestinians with relatives who are imprisoned in Israel," Francis said. "They suffer so much, I heard how they both suffer."

"Wars do this, but here we have gone beyond war: This is not war, it is terrorism," the Pope added. "Pray a lot for peace.”

"We pray for the Palestinian people, we pray for the Israeli people, that peace may come," the pontiff said.

Francis has repeatedly called for an end to the war and has tried to maintain the Vatican’s diplomatic neutrality in conflicts. The Vatican is particularly concerned about the plight of Christians in Gaza.