WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis on Sunday (Oct 22) and discussed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, the White House and the
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Oct 21, 2023. ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas
The Vatican earlier said the call, which lasted about 20 minutes,"focused on conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace".Israel has since retaliated with deadly air strikes on Gaza, a 45km-long strip of land that is part of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and home to 2.3 million people.
In his call with Pope Francis, Biden, who is a Catholic, condemned the attack by Hamas and affirmed the need to protect civilians in Gaza, the White House said. The pope has several times called for the release of hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct 7 attack. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that after the release of two US citizens on Friday the United States hoped for more hostages to be freed by Hamas.