VATICAN CITY, Dec 28: Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday denounced the violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and urged everyone involved in the “tragic situation in the Middle East” to strive for humanity and wisdom.

“I implore an end to the violence which must be denounced in all its forms and a restoration of the truce on the Gaza Strip,” he said in his weekly Angelus prayer.

“I call on the international community to do all it can to help the Israelis and Palestinians on this dead-end road ... and not to give in to the perverse logic of confrontation and violence but to favour the path of dialogue and negotiations,” the pontiff said.

Benedict told thousands of pilgrims gathered in the cold and rain of St Peter’s Square that he was “deeply saddened by the deaths and injuries, by the material damage, the suffering and the tears of the population, victims of this series of tragic attacks and reprisals.”

“The terrestrial homeland of Jesus cannot continue to be the witness of such bloodshed which is repeated ad infinitum.” Preparations are under way for a papal visit to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan in May 2009, which is yet to be confirmed by the Vatican.

The latest violence in the Gaza Strip has raised questions about the trip and the left-leaning Italian daily

La Repubblica reported on Sunday that the Vatican was considering cancelling the visit.—AFP