Pope Francis met with a group of Israelis who were recently freed from captivity in Gaza, where they were held hostage by Hamas. The emotional meeting, held at the Vatican, also included relatives of hostages still being held by the terrorist group. The Pope took the opportunity to reiterate his call for the release of all remaining hostages and expressed his closeness to those affected by the conflict.
The former hostages, part of the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, shared their experiences and showed the Pope posters with photographs of their loved ones still in captivity. One child even gave the Pope a football shirt with the name of Tal Shoham, a relative kidnapped by Hamas. The association’s logo and the phrase “Bring him home” were visible on the signs held by relatives.
Yelena Troufanov, whose son Sasha remains in Gaza, expressed her concern for his well-being, saying, “You see in the picture how my child has changed over the course of this year… I am very worried about his condition”. Sharone Lifshitz, whose father Oded is still being held, thanked the Pope for meeting with them and noted that he promised to pray for each of the hostages still being held.
Pope Francis has been vocal about his opposition to the war between Israel and Hamas, and this meeting marks the third time he has met with relatives of hostages ¹. The Israeli Embassy to the Holy See described the meeting as “moving” and acknowledged the Pope’s commitment to securing the release of the hostage.