In Christmas message, Pope Francis says Israeli attacks are reaping a “horrific harvest” of innocent civilians.

The Israeli bombing of Gaza is reaping a “horrific harvest” of innocent civilians, Pope Francis said in his Christmas message.

In his Christmas address “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) on Monday, the head of the Catholic Church also described Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 as “abhorrent” and again called for the release of around 100 more hostages Gaza held as he called for an end to hostilities.

Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, Francis, 87, called for an end to political, social or military conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Armenia and Azerbaijan, among others he defended the rights of migrants around the world.

“How many innocents are slaughtered in our world! In their mothers’ wombs, in the odysseys they undertake in desperation and in search of hope, in the lives of all the little ones whose childhood was destroyed by the war. They are the little Jesuses of today,” he said.

He paid particular attention to the Holy Land, including Gaza. Overnight stay on Christmas Eve, At least 78 people were killed in Israeli air strikes According to Palestinian health officials, it was one of the besieged enclave’s deadliest nights in Israel’s 11-week battle with Hamas.

“Like it [peace] Come to Israel and Palestine, where war is destroying the lives of these peoples. I embrace them all, especially the Christian communities in Gaza and throughout the Holy Land,” Francis said.

“Puppet strings of war”

“I call for an end to military operations with their appalling number of innocent civilian victims and demand a solution to the problem.” desperate humanitarian situation by opening up to the provision of humanitarian assistance,” he said.

Last week, a United Nations-backed organization said in a report that Gaza’s entire 2.3 million population was affected Crisis level of hunger and that the danger of famine increased day by day.

The Vatican, which has diplomatic ties with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, believes a two-state solution is the only answer to the long-running conflict. Francis called for “constant dialogue between the parties, supported by strong political will and the support of the international community.”

Francis devoted an entire paragraph of his message to the arms trade, saying: “And how can we even talk about peace when the production, sale and trade of arms is on the rise?”

He called for greater investigation into the arms trade.

“It should be talked about and written about to bring to light the interests and profits that drive the puppets of war,” he said.

Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ cross-border attack on October 7, killing at least 20,424 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounding 54,036 others, according to local health authorities.

The Hamas attack killed around 1,140 people in Israel.

The Israeli assault has reduced Gaza to rubble, with half of the coastal area’s housing damaged or destroyed and nearly two million people displaced within the densely populated enclave due to a lack of food, clean water and medicine.