Pope Francis, in his Easter address on Sunday, called for peace in the Holy Land two days after 17 Palestinians were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border, 10 of whom the IDF said Saturday were known terrorists.
The conflict in the Middle East "does not spare the defenseless," he said.
The pope made his appeal in his "Urbi et Orbi" [to the city and the world] message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican to tens of thousands of people in the flower-bedecked square below where he earlier celebrated a Mass.
He also appealed for an end to the "carnage" in Syria, calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter, and for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Francis appeared to refer directly to the Gaza violence last Friday, calling for "reconciliation for the Holy Land, also experiencing in these days the wounds of ongoing conflict that do not spare the defenseless."
The pope also urged peace for "the entire world, beginning with the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria, whose people are worn down by an apparently endless war."
"This Easter, may the light of the risen Christ illumine the consciences of all political and military leaders, so that a swift end may be brought to the carnage," he said.
He spoke a day after the Syrian army command said it had regained most of the towns and villages in eastern Ghouta. Tens of thousands of people have now evacuated once-bustling towns in the suburbs east of the capital, which had nearly 2 million people before the start of the conflict and were major commercial and industrial hubs.
He hoped the "fruits of dialogue" would advance peace and harmony on the Korean Peninsula, where the two sides are set to hold their first summit in more than a decade on April 27, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged his commitment to denuclearization.
Francis, celebrating his sixth Easter as Roman Catholic leader since his election in 2013, urged his listeners to work for an end to "so many acts of injustice" in the world.
