By Lee Jon Young

Pope Francis called for the end of military operations in Gaza and the release of Israelis being held hostage in the area in his annual Christmas message.

In his annual Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis called for an end “to war, to every war, to the very mindset of war, an aimless voyage, a defeat without victors, an inexcusable folly.”

May peace “come in Israel and Palestine, where war is devastating the lives of those peoples,” he said.

“My heart grieves for the victims of the abominable attack of October 7 last, and I reiterate my urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage,” Francis said. 

“I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims and call for a solution to the desperate humanitarian situation by an opening to the provision of humanitarian aid. May there be an end to the fueling of violence and hatred,” he continued. 

The pope initially called for a cease-fire in the region in late October, a few weeks after the war began.

“I implore peace for Ukraine. Let us renew our spiritual and human closeness to its embattled people,” he said, adding an appeal for humanitarian initiatives, dialogue and security to prevail over violence and death in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Congo and the Korean peninsula.

He called for governments and people of goodwill in the Americas in particular to address the “troubling phenomenon” of migration and its “unscrupulous traffickers” who take advantage of innocents just looking for a better life.

During his speech, he took particular aim at the weapons industry, which he said is fueling the conflicts around the globe with scarcely anyone paying attention.

“It should be talked about and written about, so as to bring to light the interests and the profits that move the puppet strings of war,” he said. “And how can we even speak of peace, when arms production, sales and trade are on the rise?”