SHAFAQNA- Pope Francis appealed for calm in the Holy Land.
The deaths of dozens of children among them are particularly “terrible and unacceptable,” the Pope said. “Their death is a sign that people do not want to build the future, but to destroy it.” He warned that the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip risks degenerating “into a spiral of death and destruction,” with wounds to “fraternity and peaceful coexistence”, according to Vatican News.
Francis prayed for peace, calm and international help to open a path of dialogue during his Sunday blessing, delivered from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square. Francis added: “In the name of God, who created all human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity and are called to live as brothers, I appeal for calm” and an end to the violence, Arab News reported.
Pope Francis then asked the faithful to pray for the victims of the conflict, “especially the children.”
Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip entered its seventh consecutive day with air raids early on Sunday killing at least 42 Palestinians, wounding dozens more, and flattening at least two residential buildings, Aljazeera mentioned.