Pope Francis spoke out against the Israel-Hamas war in a Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, lamenting the ongoing violence and futility of war in the city of Jesus’ birth.
“Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world,” Pope Francis said.
The concern from the Catholic Church comes over two months after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, and weeks into Israel’s war in Gaza. The Israeli government has claimed its campaign inside Gaza is intended to eliminate Hamas, but in reality it has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians as well. As of Sunday, the death toll had climbed to 20,424, according to numbers tallied by the Palestinian Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas. 166 people have died in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said.
