The forum representing Israel’s hostages has hailed Pipe Francis’ “commitment to everything human” as world leaders descended on the Vatican for the funeral of the late pontiff.
“We would like to express our condolences to millions around the world who mourn the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis,” said a statement. “His strong commitment to everything human was also clearly demonstrated in his solidarity with those innocent people who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on 7.10.23 and have been held in captivity ever since.
“We will always cherish his openness and moral support during our ordeal. Catholic communities across the world have shown solidarity and support for our struggle on behalf of the hostages and their families.”
They expressed hope that the Catholic Church will continue to “openly and vigorously support the international effort” to return the 59 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
It followed consternation over the Israeli government’s initial reaction to the pope’s death. While President Isaac Herzog offered condolences on social media hours after Francis died on Monday morning, a message from the foreign ministry was deleted shortly after being posted.
It took until Thursday for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to put out a message. He wrote on X: “The State of Israel expresses its deepest condolences to the Catholic Church and the Catholic community worldwide at the passing of Pope Francis,” Netanyahu posted on X. “May he rest in peace.”
Leaders in Jewish-Catholic relations hailed his commitment to dialogue. But the pontiff’s relationship with Israel and many Jewish leaders deteriorated after October 7 2023 after he was accused of failing to pin the blame sufficiently on Hamas, and seemed to equate the terror group’s assault on Israeli towns with Israel’s military response.
Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See attended the funeral on Saturday morning alongside world leaders like Donald Trump, Keir Starmer, Prince William, Emmanuel Macron and King Hussein of Jordan.
