The Palestinian and Israeli ambassadors were invited to the Vatican Gardens on Friday by Pope Francis to pray for an end to the war in Gaza, marking the 10th anniversary of a similar encounter with the Israeli and Palestinian presidents with a new appeal for peace.
The Pope told the small gathering, which included Israeli Ambassador Raphael Schutz and Palestinian Ambassador Issa Kassissieh, as well as representatives of Italy's Jewish and Muslim communities, and around two-dozen cardinals and the Holy See’s diplomatic corps that every day, he prays “that this war will finally end.”
Pope Francis hosted such an encounter in the gardens 10 years ago, the very first when he welcomed Israel’s then-President Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
At the time, a round of U.S.-mediated peace talks had stalled. But Francis told the two presidents that he hoped their summit would mark “a new journey” toward peace.
Then as now, Francis said too many children had been killed by war, and he begged for both sides to agree to a cease-fire in Gaza and the immediate return of hostages to Israel.
“All this suffering, the brutality of war, the violence it unleashes and the hatred it sows even among future generations should convince us all that every war leaves our world worse than it was before,” he said.
Francis has tried to toe a balanced line on Gaza after initially angering Israel with comments that were perceived of as being supportive of the Palestinians. He has since made sure to also mention Israel's suffering and call for the return of hostages taken Oct. 7 when he refers to the war.
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