Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Pope Francis’s representative in the Holy Land, explained that he is willing to participate personally in an exchange with children taken hostage by Hamas and detained in the Gaza Strip.
In an online meeting with some journalists, he was asked if he would offer himself in exchange for the children being held hostage, and he replied, “I am ready for an exchange, for anything, if it can lead to freedom and help bring the children home. No problem. From my side, I am completely ready. The first thing to do is try to secure the release of hostages. We are ready to help, even me personally.”
About 200 people are believed to be held hostage in the Gaza Strip, including more than ten children. “We expressed our readiness to at least try to return the hostages, at least some of them. This is very difficult, because mediation requires interlocutors. Unfortunately, it is not easy to talk to Hamas,” the cardinal further explained.
Pizzaballa also expressed serious concerns about the conflict in the near future: with a ground invasion by the Israeli army, the humanitarian emergency could further worsen and the conflict could expand. “The Islamic world may flare up, it is very difficult to predict the development of events, but fears of regional expansion are real, and I am not alone in saying this.”