President Biden said Monday that he and Pope Francis agree on the administration’s plan for addressing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas, after their conversation over the weekend.
“The Pope and I are on the same page,” Mr. Biden said at an event to talk about his economic agenda. “I laid out to him what the game plan was, how we thought we should be providing the kind of assistance to Israel they needed and the Pope was across-the-board supportive of what we’re doing.”
Mr. Biden and Pope Francis spoke on Sunday about the Israel-Hamas war, discussing the “need to prevent escalation in the region and work toward a durable peace in the Middle East,” the White House said.
The Vatican said the call, which lasted about 20 minutes “focused on conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace.”
The two also discussed Mr. Biden’s visit to Israel and efforts to deliver food, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance in Hamas-controlled Gaza, the White House said.
The Pope has repeatedly called for the release of hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel. Hamas did release two U.S. citizens on Friday, and two other hostages from Israel on Monday.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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