Pope meets Palestinian leader Abbas at the Vatican

Pope Francis, who has recently intensified criticism of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, received Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, with whom he discussed the “serious” humanitarian situation.

The pair, who have previously met several times, discussed peace efforts during a private half-hour audience according to the Vatican, which released images of them smiling together.

Abbas then met the Holy See’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the Vatican’s equivalent of a foreign minister, Paul Richard Gallagher.

The discussions focused on the Church’s assistance in “the very serious humanitarian situation in Gaza”, the hoped-for ceasefire, release of all hostages, and “achieving the two-state solution only through dialogue and diplomacy”, a Vatican statement said.

The meeting comes a few days after the release of a photo showing Pope Francis praying in front of a nativity scene at the Vatican, where the baby Jesus’s manger is covered with a black and white keffiyeh scarf, the symbol of Palestinian resistance.