"I thank the Pope for having responded to the request to meet the families of the kidnapped to strengthen them and support the return of the kidnapped to their home. The Pope's support has a great moral and practical weight, and I am convinced it will contribute to the return home of the kidnapped." This was stated in a note by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who is visiting Rome today, after the Vatican announced that Pope Francis will meet tomorrow with the families of the hostages accompanying the head of Israeli diplomacy on his trip to Italy.
Tomorrow Katz will meet the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Msgr. Paul Richard Gallagher, with whom "he will discuss the importance of increasing pressure to free all 133 kidnapped prisoners of Hamas", writes the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The meeting in the Vatican "will be held after today's meeting with the Italian Foreign Minister and the Jewish community and the meetings scheduled for tomorrow with the Ministers of Defense and the Interior. The aim of the visit is to raise awareness on the issue of release of the hostages and guarantee Italy's continued support for Israel's war objectives and condition any ceasefire on the release of the hostages," Katz said in the statement.
Tomorrow morning, around 8.30, Pope Francis will receive the families of five Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Vatican. ANSA learned this from diplomatic sources. The families of the hostages arrived in Rome today with Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who, according to what we learn, will in turn meet the Secretary for Relations with States, Monsignor, in the Vatican tomorrow. Paul Richard Gallagher. The meeting with the Pope is reserved for family members only.
Meanwhile, the meeting began at the Farnesina between Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz, the deputy director of the FAO Beth Bechdol, the deputy executive director of the World Food Program Carl Skau, the head of the Civil Protection Department Fabrizio Curcio and the president of the Italian Red Cross Rosario Velastro, also representing the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
As far as we know, international agencies and the Italian Foreign Ministry are illustrating to the Israeli minister their assessments of the dramatic situation in Gaza, the needs of the population and are listing the requests for the steps necessary to immediately bring materials into Gaza while guaranteeing security. of international operators.
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