Pope Francis' emissary in the Holy Land declared he would exchange himself for Israeli children held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, remarked in answer to a question during a video conference with media in Italy.
"I am willing to give anything in exchange for freedom and the return of the children." No worries. "My willingness is complete," he stated.
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"The first step is to try to secure the release of the hostages; otherwise, there will be no stopping (an escalation)." "We are willing to assist, including myself," he stated.
However, he added that he and his team had not yet communicated directly with Hamas, the militant Islamist group that attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,300 people.
"You cannot communicate with Hamas." "It's extremely difficult," he admitted.
Around 200 persons were kidnapped, with a dozen suspected to be children.
Pizzaballa oversees Roman Catholic activity in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, and Cyprus, a territory with an estimated 300,000 Roman Catholics.
As Israel prepares a ground attack to crush Hamas, diplomatic efforts to get aid into Gaza have increased.
According to Gaza authorities, at least 2,750 people have been killed, and almost 10,000 have been injured due to Israeli strikes. Another 1,000 persons were reported missing and presumed to be buried beneath the rubble.
According to Pizzaballa, over 1,000 Christians took refuge in Church structures in northern Gaza after their homes were devastated by Israeli bombings.
"They don't know where to go because moving is dangerous," he said.
Israel has urged fatigued Gaza residents to flee to the south, which hundreds of thousands have already done in the enclave of over 2 million people. Hamas, which governs Gaza, has advised residents to disregard Israel's warning.
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