(ZENIT News / Rome, 10.30.2025).- In Rome, nearly two years after the black morning of October 7, 2023, Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman, stood before diplomats, clergy, and survivors to mark a turning point few thought possible: the end of the Gaza war and the return home of every surviving hostage.
The ambassador, speaking at a commemorative event hosted by the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See on October 23, reflected not only on political strategy and military resolve, but also on prayer, moral courage, and the quiet diplomacy that helped move hardened hearts. “The agreement that brought back all the remaining hostages and effectively ended the war,” Sideman said, “would not have been possible without Israel’s pressure on Hamas, without the leadership and commitment of President Donald Trump—and it was also made possible through the powerful prayers and gestures of unity by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV.”
It was a rare acknowledgment from an Israeli diplomat, one that bridged the political and the spiritual. Both pontiffs, Sideman recalled, had persistently appealed for the release of the hostages, calling attention to their plight in moments when much of the world seemed to move on. Pope Francis had met the families of the captives three times and, during his Angelus address on September 15, 2024, mentioned by name Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages later found dead in Gaza along with five others.
“By giving names and faces to those suffering,” Sideman said, “the Pope made sure their humanity was never forgotten. He kept their memory alive and sustained the collective determination to bring them home.” The ambassador also credited Pope Leo XIV, who continued to work behind the scenes for peace and prisoner exchanges, calling both pontiffs “moral beacons” in one of the darkest chapters of recent Middle Eastern history.
Yet the ambassador’s tone remained restrained. “This is a time to be hopeful,” he said, “but not yet a time to celebrate.” Thirteen bodies, the remains of the last hostages, are still held in Gaza. “We will not rest until each of them is returned to their families for a proper burial.”
He emphasized that the next phase of the peace process depends on the full demilitarization of Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas. “Only then can we be certain,” he said, “that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel. But it is equally vital that we offer hope and a better future to the people of Gaza themselves—once freed from the tyranny of Hamas.”
Sideman’s words were not limited to geopolitics. They carried a moral undercurrent—a call to unity that went beyond national lines. “Despite all that divides us, we remain deeply connected to one another,” he said. “That sense of shared humanity, that living fabric of compassion and solidarity, has been our greatest source of strength.”
In Israel, this unity had been visible in the hundreds of thousands who filled city squares over the past two years, rallying for the hostages’ release, mourning those lost, and celebrating each safe return as a collective victory. “It is this spirit of unity,” the ambassador concluded, “that will lead us out of the abyss of the October 7 tragedy toward a brighter future.”
The mention of the Popes’ involvement—particularly the coordinated moral appeals of Francis and Leo XIV—reveals a dimension often overlooked in narratives of political negotiation. Their interventions, rooted in a theology of human dignity rather than diplomacy, helped sustain public empathy at a time when fatigue and cynicism threatened to dominate the discourse.
In the end, the path to peace was not only paved by political pressure but also by the persistence of prayer—by voices that refused to let violence have the last word.
Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.
