Mass celebrated in Rome for children victims of war in Holy Land

By Francesca Merlo

A special Mass was held in Rome on Sunday for all the children who have become victims of the war raging in the Holy Land.

At the Church of San Bernardo, the vicar of the Custody of Jerusalem presided over the memorial Mass.

“We want to pray and remember them all, from Gaza to Bethlehem, from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, to Jenin," said Fr. Ibrahim Faltas.

Over 6,000 children have been killed by bombs in Gaza, and the total number of deaths, says Fr. Faltas in an interview with Vatican News, “could be as high as 20,000" when counting those unaccounted for, mainly lost under rubble.

Of these, he lamented, “so many are children, women, elderly people and people with disabilities.”

Fr. Faltas

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says the death toll in the Strip since 7 October sits at over 14,800 people. The death toll of Israelis in Hamas' 7 October attacks are 1,200.

On 27 November, 50 days after the fighting began, Israel and Hamas are preparing for a fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Meanwhile, mediators are seeking to extend what is being described as a four-day “temporary truce” in the Gaza Strip, set to expire on Monday at midnight.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he told US President Joe Biden he intended to resume the bombing in Gaza on Tuesday, adding that he would welcome extending the truce if it facilitated the release of ten additional hostages daily, as agreed under the original Qatari-brokered deal.

The exchange of hostages thus far

On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 more hostages—14 Israelis and three Thais—in a third exchange under the four-day truce. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners.

Of the roughly 240 hostages captured by Hamas in its 7 October attack in southern Israel that ignited the war, 62 have been released; one was freed by Israeli forces, and two were found dead inside Gaza.