VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis deplored Friday a “hatred” sowed by the war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza that could incite further violence among “future generations,” reiterating his calls for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.
“All this suffering, the brutality of war, the violence it unleashes and the hatred it sows even among future generations should convince us all that every war leaves our world worse than it was before,” Francis said.
His comments marked the 10th anniversary of a call for peace in the Holy Land by Israel’s former president Shimon Peres and Mahmud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, at a Vatican meeting in June 2014.
“I think of all who suffer in Israel and Palestine: Christians, Jews and Muslims. I think of how urgent it is that from the rubble of Gaza a decision to stop the weapons will finally arise, and therefore I ask that there be a ceasefire,” he said in a statement released by the Vatican.
“I think of the families and of the Israeli hostages and ask that they be released as soon as possible. I think of the Palestinian population and ask that they be protected and receive all necessary humanitarian aid,” he said.
“All of us must work and commit ourselves to achieving a lasting peace, where the State of Palestine and the State of Israel can live side by side,” he added.
Efforts to mediate a first ceasefire in the Gaza conflict since a week-long pause in November appear to have stalled, only a week after US President Joe Biden offered a new roadmap.
The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, 120 of whom remain in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 36,731 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
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Pope warns of ‘hatred’ fueling future Israel-Hamas conflict
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Pope warns of ‘hatred’ fueling future Israel-Hamas conflict
- I ask that there be a ceasefire, the Pope said
Tens of thousands attend funeral of killed Bangladesh student leader
- Tens of thousands of mourners gathered in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Saturday for the funeral of a student leader, after two days of violent protests over his killing
DHAKA: Tens of thousands of mourners gathered in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Saturday for the funeral of a student leader, after two days of violent protests over his killing.
Huge crowds accompanied the funeral procession of Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in last year’s pro-democracy uprising who died in a hospital in Singapore on Thursday after being shot by masked gunmen while leaving a Dhaka mosque.
Police wearing body cameras were deployed in front of the parliament building where the funeral prayers were held.
Hadi’s body, which was brought to the capital on Friday, was buried at the central mosque of Dhaka University.
“We have not come here to say goodbye,” interim leader Muhammad Yunus said in an emotional speech.
“You are in our hearts and you will remain in the heart of all Bangladeshis as long as the country exists.”
Hadi, 32, was an outspoken critic of India and was set to contest the general elections in February.
Iqbal Hossain Saikot, a government employee who traveled from afar to attend the prayers, said Hadi was killed because he staunchly opposed India.
He will continue to live “among the millions of Bangladeshi people who love the land and its sovereign territory,” Saikot, 34, told AFP.
Hadi’s death has triggered widespread unrest, with protesters across the South Asian nation demanding the arrest of those responsible.
Late Thursday, people set fire to several buildings in Dhaka including the offices of leading newspapers Prothom Alo and the Daily Star.
Critics accuse the publications of favoring neighboring India, where Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has taken refuge since fleeing Dhaka in the wake of the 2024 uprising.
Rights group Amnesty International on Saturday urged Bangladesh’s interim government to carry out “prompt, thorough, independent and impartial” investigations into Hadi’s killing and the violence that followed.
It also expressed alarm over the lynching of Hindu garment worker Dipu Chandra Das following allegations of blasphemy.
Yunus said seven suspects had been arrested in connection with Das’s killing in the central district of Mymensingh on Thursday.
Huge crowds accompanied the funeral procession of Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in last year’s pro-democracy uprising who died in a hospital in Singapore on Thursday after being shot by masked gunmen while leaving a Dhaka mosque.
Police wearing body cameras were deployed in front of the parliament building where the funeral prayers were held.
Hadi’s body, which was brought to the capital on Friday, was buried at the central mosque of Dhaka University.
“We have not come here to say goodbye,” interim leader Muhammad Yunus said in an emotional speech.
“You are in our hearts and you will remain in the heart of all Bangladeshis as long as the country exists.”
Hadi, 32, was an outspoken critic of India and was set to contest the general elections in February.
Iqbal Hossain Saikot, a government employee who traveled from afar to attend the prayers, said Hadi was killed because he staunchly opposed India.
He will continue to live “among the millions of Bangladeshi people who love the land and its sovereign territory,” Saikot, 34, told AFP.
Hadi’s death has triggered widespread unrest, with protesters across the South Asian nation demanding the arrest of those responsible.
Late Thursday, people set fire to several buildings in Dhaka including the offices of leading newspapers Prothom Alo and the Daily Star.
Critics accuse the publications of favoring neighboring India, where Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has taken refuge since fleeing Dhaka in the wake of the 2024 uprising.
Rights group Amnesty International on Saturday urged Bangladesh’s interim government to carry out “prompt, thorough, independent and impartial” investigations into Hadi’s killing and the violence that followed.
It also expressed alarm over the lynching of Hindu garment worker Dipu Chandra Das following allegations of blasphemy.
Yunus said seven suspects had been arrested in connection with Das’s killing in the central district of Mymensingh on Thursday.
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