Rhino: Agencies – Pope Francis on Wednesday renewed his call for a ceasefire in the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip and the release of remaining Israeli hostages.

In his Christmas message titled “For the City of Rome and the World,” the Pope described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “very serious” and called for “the doors of dialogue and peace to be opened wide.”

The pope has become more critical of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, calling it “brutal” last week.