Pope Francis dials Israel President Isaac Herzog, expresses concern over Gaza war

The diplomatic exchange was kept under wraps by the Israeli administration as did not go down well with the authorities. A few days ago, Pope incidentally also criticised Hamas's terror of innocent Israelis.

Rome:Taking a stand against Israel's aggression on Gaza, Pope Francis over a telephone call to Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke about his opposition to the Jewish nation's action and reminded the Israeli head of state that it is “forbidden to respond to terror with terror.”

According to a report by the Washington Post, the Israeli President also defended his country's action describing how important it was for his country to act against terror. Pope Francis told Herzog that those responsible for the October 7 carnage should be held accountable but not at the cost of civilian lives.

The diplomatic exchange was kept under wraps by the Israeli administration as did not go down well with the authorities. A few days ago, Pope incidentally also criticised Hamas's terror of innocent Israelis.

In his latest statement, he described the fighting between both sides as 'terrorism'. “I heard how both sides suffer, and this is what wars do, but here we’ve gone beyond war," Pope was quoted as saying by Washinton Post.

Meanwhile, the US appealed to Israel to comply with international law while fighting Hamas in Gaza. Top US official Antony Blinken in a message on X (formerly Twitter) emphasised the “need for Israel to take every possible measure to avoid civilian harm” during the meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As the truce deal in a bid to release as many hostages as possible from Gaza enters the seventh day after a second extension from the initial agreement, the international mediators are seeking to lengthen the ceasefire beyond Thursday.

Despite mounting pressure, Israel reiterated its position to re-launch its offensive against Hamas soon after the truce is over. The US has extended its support to Israel's prospective operation. “When Israel decides to go after Hamas again, it will continue to find support from the US,” said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.