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Live Blog Update| Israel's genocide in Gaza

Pope renews calls for 'immediate humanitarian ceasefire' in Gaza

Pope Francis on Wednesday renewed his call for an "immediate" ceasefire in Gaza and pleaded for an end to suffering for both Israelis and Palestinians, Reuters reported. 

"I renew my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire," the leader of the world's more than 1.35 billion Catholics said during his Wednesday audience.

"May this great suffering for the Israelis and the Palestinians be over," he said, urging the release of all Israeli hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Pope Francis gives a blessing at the end of the weekly general audience, in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, 13 December 2023 (Reuters)
Pope Francis gives a blessing at the end of the weekly general audience, in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, 13 December 2023 (Reuters)