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Following a soccer match Thursday between a Dutch and an Israeli team, at least 10 young men sought out Israeli fans, verbally and physically assaulting them.
Pope Francis on Sunday urged the release of the remaining Hamas hostages as he remembered 23-year-old American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five others.
In a letter addressed to “my Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel" and released today, Pope Francis lamented the “terrible increase in attacks against Jews around the world” that has taken place since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last October.
Pope Francis made a strong appeal for peace on Sunday calling modern warfare “a crime against humanity” that sows death among civilians and destroys cities.
The Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem reported that two women were shot by the IDF on Dec. 16.
The West Bank remains “a huge prison” where people cannot move to get basic services, and Gaza is reeling in a deep humanitarian crisis, a Caritas official has said, noting that staff of the charity arm of the Church who are based in the two zones are unable to provide any help to those affected by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa explained that it is “charity and prayer” that have animated the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem “in times of extreme hardship.”
The U.N. said Sunday that “thousands of desperate people” had “stormed U.N.-operated warehouses” and other aid distribution centers in the Gaza region.
“War and bombs have never solved problems; on the contrary, they always create new ones,” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said.
In his meeting with the pope, Ronald Lauder urged the pontiff “to use your power, to use your strength, to get these hostages released.”
The ongoing tension in the Middle East has flared up again in a war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip.
Israel Defense Forces announced Monday that 199 Israeli hostages, including children, are being held by Hamas.
Vatican’s secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin said any mediation would have to take into account "the issue of Israeli settlements, security, and the issue of the city of Jerusalem."
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa has urged Catholics to organize times of prayer with Eucharistic adoration and recitation of the rosary.
On Saturday, Oct. 7, Israel suddenly found itself in a state of war. A barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip and attacks by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated cities near the border resulted in the death of over 1,000 people. Among them were 11 American citizens as well as citizens from many other countries.
Father Gabriel Romanelli expressed his gratitude for the closeness, concern, and prayers, along with the “hundreds of messages” he receives every day.
The pope issued an appeal Sunday to “please stop weapons attacks!”
Surprise attacks by Hamas on Israel early on Saturday killed at least dozens of people.
Pope Francis prayed Sunday that the recently signed cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians will be maintained and that “the weapons will be silenced.”
In his Sunday Angelus address, the pope expressed “great sorrow” for the death of Palestinians killed in an Israeli military raid and seven Israelis killed in a shooting.