"This is not war, this is terrorism," Pope Francis said of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, BBC reports.
The Pope held separate meetings with Israeli families of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians with relatives in Gaza.
He said the Israel-Hamas conflict had gone beyond war, becoming terrorism, and emphasised that both sides were suffering.
Speaking at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square shortly after the meetings at his residence, the pope said, "Both sides suffer so much." "Please, let us move forward, let there be peace... every human being, Christian, Jew, Muslim, from any nation or religion, every human being is sacred, is precious in the eyes of God and has the right to live in peace."/BGNES
