Gaza truce: Pope grateful to mediators, hopeful for a two-state solution
At the Angelus, Pope Francis hails the truce, after 15 months of intense and incessant appeals for peace, hopeful that “what has been agreed will be respected immediately by the parties”. Today Hamas is set to free three young Israeli women, with a list of about 90 Palestinian prisoners still not available. The pontiff calls for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza “faster and in large quantities.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The words Pope Francis spoke incessantly over the last 15 months still seem to resonate today: " Let every effort be put toward [. . .] freeing hostages ", "war is a defeat", "let us continue to pray for peace", "ceasefire on all war fronts".
Today a glimmer of peace is a reality, with the entry into force of the recently agreed truce between Israel and Hamas.
“I express my gratitude to all the mediators. It is a good job, to mediate so that peace is made,” said the pontiff this morning after the recitation of the Marian prayer at the Angelus, on a gloomy, wintry Roman day.
“And I also thank all the parties involved in this important result,” he added, full of gratitude for the sound of weapons falling silent, so much wished for since 7 October 2023.
“I hope that what has been agreed will be respected immediately by the parties, and that all the hostages may finally return home and embrace their loved ones.”
After an initial delay, the truce became effective at 11:15 am local time. Hamas is set to free three young women today – Doron Steinbrecher (31), Emily Damari (28), and Romi Gonen (24) –from in exchange for about 90 Palestinian prisoners, whose names have not yet been released. “I pray a lot for them and for their families,” he added.
Humanitarian aid is now beginning to reach Gaza, with lorries and fuel tankers passing the Rafah crossing, closed since last May. About “182 truckloads of humanitarian aid entered through the Karam Abu Salem and Al-Awja crossings,” Egyptian sources report.
“I also hope that humanitarian aid will reach the people of Gaza, who so urgently need it, even faster and in large quantities,” said Pope Francis, who hopes to see the two peoples live in peace side by side.
“Both the Israelis and the Palestinians need clear signs of hope: I trust that the political authorities of both of them, with the help of the international community, may reach the right solution for the two States,” he said.
“May everyone be able to say: yes to dialogue, yes to reconciliation, yes to peace. And let us pray for this: for dialogue, reconciliation and peace.”
The pontiff also mentioned other peace efforts in the world. Each of which is “a gesture of great hope that embodies one of the intentions of this Jubilee year.” But the road to peace is still long.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church was instrumental in meditating the recent release of 127 prisoners in Cuba. “I hope that in the coming months, we will continue to undertake initiatives of this type, which instil confidence in the journey of people and populations,” said Pope Francis.
“In these days of prayer for Christian unity, let us not cease to invoke from God the precious gift of full communion between all the Lord’s disciples. And let us pray always for tormented Ukraine, for Palestine, Israel, Myanmar and all the populations who are suffering because of war.”
Before the Angelus, Pope Francis gave his commentary on the Gospel of the day (Jn 2:1-11), about Jesus’s first miracle, that of turning water into wine at a wedding feast at Cana in the Galilee, focusing on two aspects present in the passage: lack and superabundance.
“How does God respond to man’s lack?” Francis asks. “With superabundance. God is not mean! When He gives, He gives a lot. He does not give you a little bit, He gives you a lot. The Lord responds to our shortcomings with His superabundance.”
The wine that is missing in the lives of Christians can represent the absence of strength, the presence of concerns. Yet, “It seems to be a contradiction: the more that is lacking in us, the greater the Lord’s superabundance. Because the Lord wants to celebrate with us, in a feast without end.”
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