Pope Francis received this Thursday, November 14, 2024 in audience at the Vatican a group of 16 former Israeli hostages who were released after months of captivity in Gaza, reported the official Vaticannews news site.
The group was made up of ten women, four men and two children, according to the same source.
Several of these former hostages showed the Argentine pope signs or photos of their loved ones still in captivity.
The Pope had already received family members of hostages twice, last April and in November 2023, but this is the first time he has received former hostages.
Since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Pope Francis has repeatedly called for the immediate release of Israeli hostages, but has also denounced the suffering of the Palestinian population.
The unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures which include hostages killed in captivity.
Of the 251 people taken hostage on October 7, 2023, 97 are still captive in Gaza, 34 of whom were declared dead by the Israeli army.
The military offensive launched by Israel in retaliation killed at least 43,736 people in the Gaza Strip, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Health in the territory controlled by Hamas.
© AFP
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