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Pope Francis Intends to Visit Jerusalem Again

Pope Francis waves from his Papamobile at St. Louis Catholic Church in Bangkok, Thailand November 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
Pope Francis waves from his Papamobile at St. Louis Catholic Church in Bangkok, Thailand November 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
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Pope Francis Intends to Visit Jerusalem Again

Pope Francis waves from his Papamobile at St. Louis Catholic Church in Bangkok, Thailand November 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
Pope Francis waves from his Papamobile at St. Louis Catholic Church in Bangkok, Thailand November 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo

At the end of his visit to the Vatican, the mayor of Nazareth, Ali Salam, announced that Pope Francis intends to make a second visit to the Holy Land during the next year, at the invitation of the Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

He added that the Pope would hold prayers in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth, in order to push the peace process in the Middle East.

Salam said he felt the Pope’s avid desire to advance the peace process. He also noted that sources in the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government have informed him that contacts were underway between the two sides with the Vatican, to coordinate the date of the visit and its detailed program.

Stressing the possibility of organizing the trip in 2020, Salam revealed that the date was yet to be set.

The mayor of Nazareth met Pope Francis in the Vatican on Thursday, in response to an official invitation from the Vatican.

According to a statement issued by the municipality, Salam spoke with His Holiness the Pope about Nazareth, and its importance as the largest Palestinian Arab city in Israel and where Jesus lived the longest period of his life.

He also invited Pope Francis to visit the city and invite Christian pilgrims to discover the region.

Pope Francis conducted his first visit to the holy Palestinian territories in 2014.

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US, Arab Mediators Make Some Progress in Gaza Peace Talks, No Deal Yet

Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
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US, Arab Mediators Make Some Progress in Gaza Peace Talks, No Deal Yet

Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)

US and Arab mediators have made some progress in their efforts to reach a ceasefire accord between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but not enough to seal a deal, Palestinian sources close to the talks said on Thursday.
As talks continued in Qatar, the Israeli military carried out strikes across the enclave, killing at least 17 people, Palestinian medics said.
Qatar, the US and Egypt are making a major push to reach a deal to halt fighting in the 15-month conflict and free remaining hostages held by the Hamas group before President Joe Biden leaves office.
President-elect Donald Trump has warned there will be "hell to pay", if the hostages are not released by his inauguration on Jan. 20.
On Thursday, a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said the absence of a deal so far did not mean the talks were going nowhere and said this was the most serious attempt so far to reach an accord.
"There are extensive negotiations, mediators and negotiators are talking about every word and every detail. There is a breakthrough when it comes to narrowing old existing gaps but there is no deal yet," he told Reuters, without giving further details.
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Eden Bar-Tal said Israel was fully committed to reaching an agreement to return its hostages from Gaza but faces obstruction from Hamas.
The two sides have been at an impasse for a year over two key issues. Hamas has said it will only free its remaining hostages if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from Gaza. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are free.
SEVERE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
On Thursday, the death toll from Israel's military strikes included eight Palestinians killed in a house in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, where Israeli forces have operated for more than three months. Nine others, including a father and his three children, died in two separate airstrikes on two houses in central Gaza Strip, health officials said.
There was no Israeli military comment on the two incidents.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health officials. Much of the enclave has been laid waste and most of the territory's 2.1 million people have been displaced multiple times and face acute shortages of food and medicine, humanitarian agencies say.
Israel denies hindering humanitarian relief to Gaza and says it has facilitated the distribution of hundreds of truckloads of food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment to warehouses and shelters over the past week.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. On Wednesday, the Israeli military said troops had recovered the body of Israeli Bedouin hostage Youssef Al-Ziyadna, along with evidence that was still being examined suggesting his son Hamza, taken on the same day, may also be dead.
"We will continue to make every effort to return all of our hostages, the living and the deceased," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.