Pope Francis has stressed the need for a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as a special status for Jerusalem.
In an interview with Italian state television RAI, the pope said he was hopeful a regional escalation could be avoided in the current conflict, which began when Hamas militants killed some 1,400 Israelis in a terror attack on October 7.
An escalation, he said, "would mean the end of so many things and so many lives."
He also voiced concern about a rise in antisemitism, adding that much of it "remains hidden."
"(Those are) two peoples who have to live together, with that wise solution, two states. The Oslo Accords, two well-defined states and Jerusalem with a special status," Francis said.
