Pope Francis will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, the Vatican said in a planning note on Tuesday.
Mahmoud Abbas © Mena Today
Pope Francis will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, the Vatican said in a planning note on Tuesday.
Abbas is traveling to Italy this week, where he is expected also to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Francis and Abbas have met several times. The pope has recently become more vocal in his criticism of Israel's military campaign in the ongoing conflict with Hamas.
The pope in October criticised the "shameful inability" of the international community to bring an end to the war.
Francis, leader of the global Catholic Church since 2013, has also criticised Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah targets as going "beyond morality".
Abbas and Francis last met at the Vatican in November 2021.
On Thursday, the Palestinian leader is expected to have a meeting with Francis at the Vatican's apostolic palace before also meeting with the Catholic Church's top diplomatic officials.
By Joshua McElwee
Ground fighting between the Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah continued through the night of Saturday to Sunday in South Lebanon, with the most intense clashes concentrated in the eastern sector of the border, particularly around the towns of Taybeh and Khiam.
The United Arab Emirates announced Sunday its air defences were actively responding to Iranian missile and drone attacks, as Gulf states continue to absorb Tehran's retaliatory strikes against the US-Israeli offensive.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran threatened to escalate their war, targeting energy and fuel facilities in the Gulf, which could again roil global energy and financial markets and deepen a regional crisis.
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