[Washington Examiner] Israel’s military operation in Gaza has "gone beyond war," according to Pope Francis, who condemned the conflict after meetings with separate delegations of Palestinian refugees and Israeli relatives of Hamas victims."Here we have gone beyond wars," Pope Francis said, referring to the suffering of both delegations. "This is not war, this is terrorism. Please, let’s go ahead and pray for peace. Pray a lot for peace."
Those extemporaneous remarks came in the hours after Qatar announced a ceasefire, during which Hamas is expected to release dozens of the hostages seized during its Oct. 7 rampage in exchange for about 150 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. That agreement reportedly should lead to a second exchange of hostages for prisoners if the terms are kept, but scores of other hostages are not covered by the deal.
"At least 50 hostages — women and children — will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s team announced late Tuesday. "The release of every additional ten hostages will result in one additional day in the pause."