On Christmas, Pope Francis calls for Gaza hostage-truce deal, Ukraine peace talks
As Hannukah and Christmas coincide, pontiff uses his annual ‘Urbi et Orbi’ address to urge ‘all peoples and nations… to silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions’
Pope Francis delivered a Christmas message Wednesday that renewed his call for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas, while also urging talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the war that followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion two years ago.
In his Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and world) address, Francis, who has recently grown more critical of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, describing it last week as “cruelty,” called the humanitarian in Gaza “extremely grave” and asked for “the doors of dialogue and peace [to] be flung open.”
The pope’s remarks earlier this week prompted a sharp response from Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which said his comments were “particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism — a multifront war that was forced upon it starting on October 7 [2023].”
“Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people,” the foreign ministry statement said at the time.
In his Christmas Day address, Francis also mentioned the Ukraine conflict directly and called for “the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation.”
Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, the pope said: “May the sound of arms be silenced in war-torn Ukraine!” He also called for “gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
Francis, who has been pope since 2013, was criticized by Ukrainian officials this year when he said the country should have the courage of the “white flag” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously ruled out engaging in peace talks without the restoration of Ukraine’s prewar borders. But Zelensky has shown an increasing willingness in the weeks since Donald Trump’s reelection as US president to enter negotiations.
The 88-year-old Francis, celebrating the 12th Christmas of his pontificate, called for an end to conflicts — political, social or military — in places including Lebanon, Mali, Mozambique, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Francis opens Jubilee year of peace, forgiveness and pardon
Francis also opened a Holy Year for the global Catholic Church on Tuesday evening, Christmas Eve, which will run through January 6, 2026. A Catholic Holy Year, also known as a Jubilee, is considered a time of peace, forgiveness and pardon.
On Wednesday, the pope said the Jubilee year should be a time for “every individual, and all peoples and nations… to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions.”
Francis also said it should be a time “to tear down all walls of separation.”
He called for a “mutually agreed solution” to bring down the border wall that has divided the Mediterranean island of Cyprus between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — recognized only by Turkey — since 1974.
Chrismukkah convergence
Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day Festival of Lights, begins this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900.
The calendar confluence has inspired some religious leaders to host interfaith gatherings, such as a Chicanukah party hosted last week by several US Jewish organizations in Houston, Texas, bringing together members of the city’s Latino and Jewish communities for latkes, the traditional potato pancake eaten on Hanukkah, topped with guacamole and salsa.
While Hanukkah is intended as an upbeat, celebratory holiday, rabbis note that it’s taking place this year as wars rage in the Middle East and fears rise over widespread incidents of antisemitism.
The holidays overlap infrequently because the Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles and is not in sync with the Gregorian calendar, which sets Christmas on December 25. The last time Hanukkah began on Christmas Day was in 2005.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
