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As the conflict in Gaza enters its 14 month, Pope Francis met with a group of 16 former hostages, kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and relatives of current hostages. During a press conference after the November 14, 2024, Vatican meeting, the Israeli delegation said they asked for the Pope's support for the release of those still held captive in Gaza.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas forces killed 1,100 people and kidnapped 251, including women, children and the elderly - mostly Israelis.
According to The Times of Israel, 63 people are still currently being held hostage. The attack triggered a massive Israeli military response in the Gaza Strip - where the Hamas Ministry of Health claims 43,700 casualties.
In the audience with the Pope at the Vatican, 10 women, four men and two children participated, according to Vatican News.
“The meeting was moving and showed the Pope's closeness to the victims of that horrible day and his commitment to their release,” reported Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman, on X.
The Pope's action “is very important to us and we thank him,” said the diplomat at a press conference followed by I.MEDIA. Those who participated in the meeting with Francis said they felt the “sincerity” of the head of the Catholic Church. “We didn't come in vain,” said one of them, adding that he hoped that, as the Pope is a figure of worldwide stature, that he could “help bring the hostages home.”
Pope Francis’ closeness
Among the hostages present this morning was 39-year-old Adi Shoham, who was freed after 50 days in captivity, and whose husband is still being held hostage. She lost her father, aunt, and uncle in the terrorist attack. Yocheved Lifshitz, 86, was also released, but her husband Oded is still a Hamas prisoner, according to a press release issued by the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See.
The Israeli-Argentinian Louis Har, 71, and the young Sahar Kalderon, both former hostages, also spoke with Francis. The Russian-Israeli Yelena Troufanov, 50, whose husband was killed, also came to the Vatican to plead the cause of her son Sasha, who appeared in poor health in two videos broadcast last May and yesterday, November 13.
“Our life is hell, we don't really have a life anymore,” said 22-year-old Gaya Kalderon, expressing concern for her father, of whom she has no news. In front of the press, the Israeli delegation denounced “an absolute crime against humanity.”
On November 22, 2023, Pope Francis met the relatives of several Israeli hostages, followed by a delegation of Palestinians suffering from the conflict. On April 8, 2024, he again met with members of five Israeli families whose relatives had been kidnapped by Hamas.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the Pope has constantly called for a ceasefire. “I pray for the victims and continue to stand by all the families of the hostages. May the conflict in Palestine and Israel cease! May the violence cease! May hatred cease! Let the hostages be released, let the negotiations continue, and let peaceful solutions be found!” he urged at the Angelus on September 15.
