The Head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has offered his life to Hamas in exchange for the children being held hostage by the Islamist militant group in Gaza.
Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, made the comment while responding to a question asked by a journalist during a video conference in Italy, Reuters reported.
“I am ready for an exchange, anything, if this can lead to freedom, to bring the children home. No problem. There is total willingness on my part,” Pope Francis’ representative in the Holy Land said today.
“The first thing to do is to try to win the release of the hostages, otherwise there will be no way of stopping (an escalation). We are willing to help, even me personally,” he added.
He said that he and his office had not had any direct contact with Hamas, the militant Islamist group that killed 1,300 people, and injured an estimated 3,500 during an attack on Israel on 7th October.
“You can’t talk to Hamas. It is very difficult,” he said.
Israel has confirmed there are 199 people being held hostage by Hamas, many of whom were taken from their homes. Among the hostages are five US nationals, eight Germans, and two natives of Mexico.
The number has risen sharply, with an earlier figure of 122 given by the IDF, which was then updated to 155. But on Monday morning, the IDF said it has confirmed 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza. It is believed that those among the abducted include babies to elderly people in their eighties.
“We are making valiant efforts to try to understand where the hostages are in Gaza, and we have such information,” said Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, “We will not carry out an attack that would endanger our people.”
The BBC has reported that at least 13 children are among the abducted, sharing footage of children being taken from Kibbutzim in Southern Israel.
The Israeli Defence Forces have said that the Israeli death toll has reached 1,400, while 2,670 people have been killed and 9,700 wounded in Palestine due to Israel’s retaliatory strikes on Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The presence of hostages in Gaza has complicated Israel’s plans for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which is home to 2.3 million people and has a large population of children.
Pope Francis is among those who have expressed concern for the fate of those still in Gaza, according to reports. On Friday, the pontiff telephoned the parish of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, dedicated to the Holy Family, for the second time since the outbreak of the war , according to parish priest there, Fr Gabriel Romanelli, who spoke to Tv2000’s Jerusalem correspondent on Saturday.
The parish is run by the Missionaries of Charity, nuns of the order established by Mother Teresa. Parish Priest Fr Romanelli said that the pope, after several attempts, was able to speak to the deputy head of the parish, Father Youssef, who remains in Gaza. It is reported the Pope asked about the Christian and Muslim children being cared for by the nuns, and pledged that he is doing all he can to end the suffering.
The UN has warned that thousands of patients lives are at risk in Gaza, with water, power and medicine nearing depletion.
Hamas has said that 22 Israeli hostages have been killed in airstrikes since the war began, and has cautioned Israel that it will kill hostages in response to unannounced strikes on civilian targets. Meanwhile, Hamas militants in Gaza continue to fire rockets into Israel.