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.
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A strike on the Maghazi refugee camp, east of Deir al-Balah, killed 70 people, according to the health ministry. The number of Israeli soldiers killed this weekend rose to 15, according to an Associated Press report.
In Bethlehem, which is located in the West Bank, Christmas Eve celebrations were canceled in light of the war.
“Our message every year on Christmas is one of peace and love, but this year it’s a message of sadness, grief and anger in front of the international community with what is happening and going on in the Gaza Strip,” Bethlehem Mayor Hana Haniyeh said.
Tourists weren’t roaming Manger Square on Christmas Eve—usually lit up brightly with holiday lights, it’s gone dark in the midst of war. A nativity scene showed baby Jesus in a white shroud, surrounded by barbed wire, decorated this year to honor the victims of the war in Gaza, the Associated Press reported.
Talks of ceasefire in Gaza have bubbled up for weeks. In late November, Israel and Hamas negotiated a series of temporary truces, which both sides renewed for several days in order to exchange some of the hundreds of hostages that Hamas took captive in October, including several Americans.
Egypt in recent hours proposed a 14-day ceasefire to allow for the liberation of 40 additional hostages, and the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel in exchange, according to The Times of Israel. The deal would also allow for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benamin Netanyahu, however, told his Cabinet on Sunday that Israel has “no choice but to continue fighting.”
“We are deepening the war in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said. “We will continue to fight until complete victory over Hamas. That is the only way to bring back the hostages, to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel.”
