Pope Francis has spoken in on the continuous attacks and bloodshed between Israel and Gaza, condemning the killings of children and women, among others.
The Roman Catholic Church’s Pope has asked for humanitarian corridors to allow the transport of food, water, and gasoline to the Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli bombardment following a horrific Hamas onslaught last weekend.
In the eight days since Hamas gunmen killed over 1,300 Israelis in an attack, Israel has reacted with a catastrophic bombing campaign in Gaza that has claimed over 2,300 lives.
According to reports, conditions in Gaza hospitals have deteriorated to the point where health personnel have begun to store remains in ice cream freezer trucks because carrying them to hospitals has become too dangerous, and cemeteries have gotten overcrowded.
Pope, speaking after his traditional Angelus prayer in Rome’s Saint Peter’s Square, on Sunday, October 15, said;
“Humanitarian law must be respected, especially in Gaza, where it is urgent and necessary to guarantee humanitarian corridors and help the population.
“I strongly urge that children, the sick, the elderly, women and all civilians should not fall victim to the conflict.
“There have already been so many deaths, please let’s not shed any more innocent blood, not in the Holy Land, not in Ukraine, not anywhere else. Enough is enough. War is always a defeat,” he said, castigating “the diabolical force of hatred, terrorism and war.”
Pope Francis again reaffirmed his plea for the “liberation of the hostages” abducted by Hamas gunmen in southern Israel, and he asked “all believers to join in prayer with the Church in the Holy Land.”
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to “demolish Hamas” as his force prepared to deploy into Gaza in search of Islamist terrorists responsible for a murderous rampage through Israeli border towns.
Israel has ordered Gazans to flee to the south, as hundreds of thousands have already done in the enclave of more than two million people, over half of whom live in Gaza City.