The president of the Catholic Church’s international aid organization is calling for a permanent ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

In a message, issued Thursday, the president of Caritas Internationalis, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, notes this is the third war in five years between the two parties.

Taking into account both sides of the conflict, the Cardinal recognized that, since early July, “almost two million Palestinians in Gaza and people in Israel have been caught up in a devastating war.”

He urged Israel and Hamas to put down arms and to see that most victims are innocent people. He recalled the recent meeting of Pope Francis at the Vatican with the presidents of Israel and Palestine and the Pope’s words that, “Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare.”

source: news.va