Pope Francis has pleaded for an end to the Palestine-Israeli conflict amid fears it could widen and called for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into to the Gaza Strip, AFP reports.

“War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop! Stop!” Francis said after his traditional Angelus prayer in Rome’s Saint Peter’s Square.

“I renew my call for spaces to be opened, for humanitarian aid to continue to arrive and for hostages to be freed,” the 86-year-old pontiff said.