Pope Begs for New Peace Efforts after Latest Attacks in Ukraine, Gaza

Pope Francis leads the Regina Caeli prayer from his window at the Vatican, April 14, 2024. (Vatican Media/­Handout via Reuters)
Pope Francis leads the Regina Caeli prayer from his window at the Vatican, April 14, 2024. (Vatican Media/­Handout via Reuters)
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Pope Begs for New Peace Efforts after Latest Attacks in Ukraine, Gaza

Pope Francis leads the Regina Caeli prayer from his window at the Vatican, April 14, 2024. (Vatican Media/­Handout via Reuters)
Pope Francis leads the Regina Caeli prayer from his window at the Vatican, April 14, 2024. (Vatican Media/­Handout via Reuters)

Pope Francis appealed for concrete new measures to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza Tuesday after attacks targeted a children's hospital in Kyiv and a school in Gaza.

The Vatican press office issued a statement Tuesday expressing Francis’ pain over the new attacks and his “profound upset” at the spiraling of violence, The AP reported.

“While he expresses closeness to the innocent victims and injured, he hopes and prays that concrete paths can be identified to put an end to these ongoing conflicts,” the statement said.

Francis has frequently asked for prayers for the “martyred” people of Ukraine but tends to keep his appeals generic. He has also tended to take a balanced line toward the war in Gaza, frequently mentioning Israel and the hostages still held by Hamas alongside the suffering of Palestinians.

A Russian missile struck the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital Monday, drawing international outcry. Russia denied responsibility, insisting it doesn’t attack civilian targets in Ukraine despite abundant evidence to the contrary, including Associated Press reporting.

In Gaza, an Israeli strike last week on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians killed more than 30 people, according to local health officials. The Israeli military said that Hamas militants were operating from within the school.



Pakistani Separatist Group Claims Killing of 7 in Bus Attack

Victims are shifted to a hospital following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Harnai area of Balochistan province, in Quetta, Pakistan, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMI KHAN
Victims are shifted to a hospital following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Harnai area of Balochistan province, in Quetta, Pakistan, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMI KHAN
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Pakistani Separatist Group Claims Killing of 7 in Bus Attack

Victims are shifted to a hospital following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Harnai area of Balochistan province, in Quetta, Pakistan, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMI KHAN
Victims are shifted to a hospital following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Harnai area of Balochistan province, in Quetta, Pakistan, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMI KHAN

A Pakistani separatist group claimed responsibility on Thursday for the killing of seven bus passengers in an attack earlier this week, saying the victims were affiliated with the military and intelligence services.
The attack occurred late Tuesday night when ethnic Baloch militants armed with guns intercepted several passenger buses on a highway in southwestern Pakistan.
The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army group said in a statement its fighters attacked the buses and killed the men in Rakhni, a town in Balochistan province.
But local authorities dismissed the claim, saying the slain individuals were civilians with no ties to security forces, The Associated Press reported.
Though BLA mainly operates in Balochistan, it has also targeted Chinese nationals working on multi-billion-dollar projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Last year, BLA killed dozens of people in three separate attacks on vehicles in Balochistan, which has been the scene of a long-running insurgency in Pakistan. BLA wants independence from the central government in Islamabad.
Although Pakistan says it has quelled the insurgency, violence in Balochistan has persisted.
Pakistan is also conducting operations in the former strongholds of the Pakistani Taliban in the restive northwest.