Pope calls for peace in the Middle East and asks not to forget Ukraine and Sudan

This Sunday, Pope Francis called for peace in the Middle East, as “every person has the right to live in peace,” and asked not to forget other countries at war, such as Ukraine and Sudan.

“Every day I think about the very serious situation in Israel and Palestine. I am close to all those who suffer, Palestinians and Israelis, I embrace them in this dark moment,” he said after Sunday’s Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace.

Francis called for an end to weapons “because they will never lead to peace and so that the conflict does not expand.”

“Enough, brothers, enough. Let the wounded in the Gaza Strip be given immediate assistance, let civilians be protected, let much more humanitarian aid be sent to this exhausted population, let the hostages, including many children and elderly people, be released,” he asked He .

The pope also added that every person, “whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, of any nation or religion, is sacred, precious in the eyes of God and has the right to live in peace,” he added.

In front of hundreds of believers listening from St. Peter’s Square, Francis urged “not to lose hope” and to work “tirelessly so that a sense of humanity prevails over hardness of heart.”

The pontiff also asked “not to forget the tortured Ukraine,” which is at war to defend itself against a Russian invasion.

The pope also mentioned the civil war that has been going on in Sudan for several months, a conflict that “is not ending and is causing numerous casualties, millions of internally displaced people, refugees in neighboring countries and a very serious humanitarian situation.”

“I feel close to the suffering of these dear people of Sudan, and I make a strong appeal to local leaders to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid and, with the help of the international community, to work towards peaceful solutions,” he said.