In his Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and world) address, Francis said all sides must muster “the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation”.
He also called for “gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace”.
Francis, who has been Pope since 2013, was criticised by Ukrainian and Israeli officials when he said Ukraine should have the courage of the “white flag” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, and berated Israel for its “cruelty” in Gaza.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had previously ruled out engaging in peace talks without the restoration of Ukraine’s pre-war borders, but has now shown an increasing willingness

to enter negotiations since Donald Trump’s re-election as U.S. president.
Earlier in December, Zelenskiy had raised the idea of a diplomatic settlement that would involve a “freezing” of the current battle lines and the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine.
Russia has demanded that Ukraine abandon its ambition to join the NATO military alliance.
The pope referred to the humanitarian situation in Gaza as ‘extremely grave’,  criticised Israel’s “cruelty “, and asked that “the doors of dialogue and peace be flung open”.
Israeli has killed more than 45,000 people, mostly civilians, since Hamas-led Palestinian militants attacked southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 250 hostages.
Israel has also bombed homes, refugee camps and hospitals and prevented aid from getting to the beleaguered displaced Palestinians. The campaign has displaced almost the entire population in the Gaza Strip and left much of the enclave in ruins.
The 88-year-old Francis, celebrating the 12th Christmas of his pontificate, also called for an end to conflicts in Lebanon, Mali, Mozambique, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.