Pope marks six-month anniversary of Hamas attacks by meeting hostages’ relatives

Pope Francis meets with relatives of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas, at the Vatican on Monday (Vatican Media via AP)

Pope Francis on Monday met relatives of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, marking the six-month anniversary of the attack in southern Israel with an hour-long audience.

The Vatican released photos of the encounter, showing relatives of several of the hostages sitting in a semicircle in front of Francis in his private library in the Apostolic Palace. Each one held a poster with a photo and the name of a loved one.