Pope Francis meets at Vatican with relatives of Israeli hostages and Palestinians living in Gaza

VATICAN CITY
By NICOLE WINFIELD

Associated Press (AP) — Pope Francis has met separately with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinians living in Gaza. He held the meetings before his weekly general audience Wednesday. There, he begged for peace and an end to what he called terrorism and “the passions that are killing everyone.” The meetings were arranged before the Israeli-Hamas hostage deal and a temporary halt in fighting was announced. Francis didn’t refer to the deal, which marked the biggest diplomatic breakthrough since the war erupted following Hamas’ Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel. In the VIP seats of St. Peter’s Square were people holding Palestinian flags and scarves and posters with “Genocide” written underneath.