Heartbroken Relatives of Israeli Hostages Being Held By Hamas Meet with Pope
Francis called Hamas "evil," one of the relatives said.
By Gary Gately
Pope Francis met privately Monday with eight relatives of Israelis being held by Hamas, and one of the family members said after the meeting that the pontiff had called Hamas “evil.”
Vatican News reported that the relatives included Bezalel Shnaider, the aunt of Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother taken hostage along with her two sons — 4-year-old Ariel and 9-month-old Kfir, the youngest hostage taken in the October 7 Hamas attacks.
The relatives held oversized photos of their captive loved ones in Francis’ private library at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
Relatives of Israeli hostages Tamir Nimrodi, 19, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 22, Agam Berger, 19, and Omri Miran, 46, also attended the meeting.
At a news conference following the hour-long meeting, Berger’s cousin Ashley Waxman described it as “very emotional” and “very powerful.” She said Francis “called Hamas evil, which they are.”
“He was very clear that the hostages need to come home,” Waxman added.
Meirav Gilboa-Dalal, the mother of Guy Gilboa-Dalal, said that since his abduction at an October 7 music festival: “For me, there is no day and no night. My heart is broken. I can barely breathe. And I am paralyzed with fear. Where is my Guy? Where? When will my Guy come home?”
Francis had also met at the Vatican in November with a group of relatives of hostages being held by Hamas.
The Vatican said Monday that Francis plans meetings with representatives of political institutions and with members of the Jewish community as he strives to help broker an end to the conflict.
“For me, there is no day and no night. My heart is broken. I can barely breathe. And I am paralyzed with fear. Where is my Guy? Where? When will my Guy come home?” — Meirav Gilboa-Dalal, the mother of 22-year-old hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal
In its October 7 cross-border offensive, Hamas killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 250 people hostage.
Israel has responded with six months of relentless attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that have left some 33,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands in the territory at risk of imminent starvation.
Pope Francis has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages and for humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in Gaza.
In a Washington Post opinion piece Monday, the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and France called for a permanent cease-fire and expressed their “determination” to enact a two-state solution. The three world leaders also called for the release of all hostages.
“The establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution, in accordance with international law and relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, to live side by side in peace and security with Israel, is the only way to achieve true peace,” wrote Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II and French President Emmanuel Macron. They called on the United Nations Security Council to lead on bringing about the two-state solution and implementing a cease-fire in Gaza.
The three leaders also warned against an Israeli military operation in Rafah, saying it “would only bring more death and suffering, heighten the risks and consequences of mass displacement of the people of Gaza and threaten regional escalation.”