Pope Francis held a meeting at the Vatican with a group of Israelis who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, including some Argentinians. The Embassy of Israel to the Holy See reported that the meeting was "moving" and showed the pope's closeness to the victims and his commitment to their release. The Vatican did not provide specific details about the meeting.
The group of 16 people included Argentinians like Luis Har and Clara Marman, Fernando and Gabriela (Clara's siblings), and Gabriela's 17-year-old daughter, Mia. Luis Har and Clara Marman were taken hostage in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, while the women were released on November 28, and the men, Luis and Fernando, were freed by the Israeli Armed Forces in February.
Additionally, the pope received another family composed of Adi Shoham, who was kidnapped along with her children Naveh and Yahel, and her mother Shoshan. They were released after 50 days of captivity under a temporary ceasefire agreement. Adi's husband, Tal Shoham, remains a hostage.
Other members of the group received by the pope included Yelena Troufanov and her family, as well as Sahar Kalderon and her family, who were also captured by Hamas. The pope expressed his concern for the situation of the hostages in Gaza and called for their immediate release, recalling the suffering that has been ongoing in the region since the attack.
This is not the first meeting for Francis with families affected by kidnappings. In the past, the pope has met with groups of relatives of hostages and has advocated for the release of captives on various occasions.
