Pope calls for ‘immediate’ end to Israeli strikes on Gaza

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis called on Sunday for an “immediate” end to Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, and for the resumption of dialogue for the release of hostages and a “definitive ceasefire”.

“I am saddened by the resumption of the intense Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, with so many deaths and injuries”, Francis wrote in his Angelus prayer, which was published on Sunday as the 88-year-old was being discharged from more than five weeks in hospital.

“I ask that the weapons be silenced immediately and that the courage be found to resume dialogue so that all the hostages can be freed and a definitive ceasefire reached”, said Francis, who was set to return to the Vatican on Sunday.

“The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is once again very serious and requires the urgent commitment of the conflicting parties and the international community”, he said.Meanwhile, Hamas is responsible for the renewed fighting in Gaza after rejecting efforts to move forward with what had been an “acceptable deal,” US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday, even as he said he would be open to new outreach.

“So this is on Hamas. The United States stands with the state of Israel,” Witkoff told Fox News. “Hamas had every opportunity to demilitarise, to accept the bridging proposal.” After weeks of relative calm in the Gaza Strip, following a ceasefire deal reached in January, attempts to agree an extension of the halt in fighting stalled and Israel resumed its air strikes and deployed ground troops in areas across the strip.

Palestinian health authorities say hundreds have been killed in the latest strikes. Witkoff’s “bridge” plan, presented earlier in March, aimed to extend the ceasefire into April, beyond the holidays of Ramazan and Passover, to allow time for negotiations on a permanent cessation of hostilities.

“Would we be amenable to a reach out from Hamas? Of course, we would be - no different than in the Russian conflict (in Ukraine). We want to end the killing, but we need to be clear who the aggressor is here, and that is Hamas,” he said. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israeli communities around the strip on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, according to an Israeli tally, and abducting 251 others as hostages.