Vatican City
Reuters
Pope Francis on Sunday called for humanitarian corridors to help those under siege in Gaza and again appealed for the release of hostages held by the militant Islamist group Hamas.
“I forcefully ask that children, the sick, the elderly and women, and all civilians do not become the victims of the conflict,” he said at his weekly address to thousands of people in St Peter’s square.
“May humanitarian rights be respected, above all in Gaza, where it is urgent and necessary to guarantee humanitarian corridors to help the entire population,” he said.
Pope Francis leads the weekly general audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on 11th October, 2023. PICTURE: Vatican Media/Handout via Reuters
Francis spoke as Israel was readying its troops for a ground assault in retaliation for unprecedented attacks it suffered when fighters rampaged through its towns shooting men, women and children and seizing hostages.
“So many have already died. Please, no more spilling of innocent blood either in the Holy Land or in Ukraine or anywhere else. Enough! Wars are always a defeat, always” he said.
Some 1,300 people were killed in the unexpected onslaught, while Gaza authorities said more than 2,300 people had died, a quarter of them children, and nearly 10,000 wounded as Israel responds with intense bombardment to the aggression.
Francis called for prayers to counter “the diabolical force of hate, terrorism and war” and urged believers around the world to join Catholics in the Holy Land in a day of fasting and prayer for peace on Tuesday.
The call follows a similar call from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who on Friday called for a humanitarian corridor and pleaded “that the sins of Hamas are not borne by the citizens of Gaza”.
In the statement, the Archbishop also begged for hostages to be set “free into safety and their loved ones might be released from the horror of their captivity”.
“Our grief and shock only grows greater as more devastating news and images emerge from the abhorrent terrorist attacks in Israel,” he said. “The agonising suffering endured by those who were targeted, and their families can scarcely be imagined. Our hearts are broken open by the grief of Israelis and our Jewish brothers and sisters around the world, for whom this trauma and loss stands in the dark and terrible shadow of the worst days of their history…
He added that the “anger felt by the people of Israel at the cruelty they have experienced is entirely justified”. “Many around the world share in that anger.”
“But in the face of a ground offensive in Gaza, I plead that the sins of Hamas are not borne by the citizens of Gaza, who themselves have faced such suffering over many decades. The price of evil cannot be paid by the innocent. Civilians cannot bear the costs of terrorists. International humanitarian law recognises that, for the sake of everyone’s humanity, some acts can never be permissible in the chaos of warfare. I pray that Israel does everything it can to limit the harm caused to innocent civilians.”
Noting that the more than two million people in Gaza, of which half a children, are “facing a catastrophe”, he said a “humanitarian corridor and convoy are needed as rapidly as possible, as set out in the Geneva Conventions”
“I join with the US Secretary of State and others in urging the Israeli government to exercise their right of defence with the wisdom that might break the cycles of violence under which generations have struggled. Amidst the chaos and confusion of war, and as much as is possible, I join the calls for Israel’s military response to be proportional and to discriminate between civilians and Hamas.”
In a further statement issued on Sunday, Welby said hospitals and patients in Gaza were in “grave danger” and said hospitals, including the Anglican-run Ahli Hospital, had been hit in Israeli strikes.
“The seriously ill and injured patients at the Anglican-run Ahli Hospital – and other healthcare facilities in northern Gaza – cannot be safely evacuated. They are running low on medical supplies. They are facing catastrophe.”
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Meanwhile, the World Council of Churches has called for an immediate ceasefire and urgent humanitarian aid for Gaza.
“The World Council of Churches (WCC) appeals once again urgently for an immediate cessation of this deadly violence, and for Hamas to cease their attacks,” said WCC general secretary Rev Prof Dr Jerry Pillay in a statement on Sunday. “We urgently ask both parties for de-escalation of the situation. We are deeply concerned about the conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed groups, and of the inevitably tragic consequences for the people of the region – Israelis and Palestinians alike – following a period of escalating tensions and violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem.”
Echoing an earlier statement from the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, he said the WCC called on Israel, with the support of the international community, “to allow humanitarian support to enter Gaza so millions of innocent civilians, including many children, may receive medical treatment and basic supplies.”
“Moreover, we call on all parties to de-escalate this war in order to save innocent lives while serving the cause of justice.”
Earlier, Pillay called for a “new approach” to resolve the conflict in the Holy Land.
“The horrific situation today in Israeli and Palestine, leaving so many dead, thousands injured, many families either displaced or living in shelters, and hundreds held in captivity and prisons is exactly what we all feared would happen…” he said.
“The international community must acknowledge the need for a new approach with an end goal of just coexistence. The peace process has failed both peoples, Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
He said the WCC called for “the establishment of clarity regarding a future built on justice instead of military power, where International Law is applied consistently without partiality”.
“We must reimagine sustainable peace for the region, peace that can withstand the test of time. At the core of such peace is equality and justice. We hope and pray that our call will be heeded; and that Palestinians, Israelis, and the entire Middle East find a new path to peace.”
The Vatican has offered to mediate in the conflict. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, said the attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens was “inhuman”.
Referring to the Israeli response and the widely expected ground assault, Parolin said “it is the right of those who are attacked to defend themselves, but even legitimate defence must respect the parameter of proportionality.”
– With DAVID ADAMS
