In the last 18 months of his life, Pope Francis had a frequent evening ritual: He would call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war.That small act of compassion made a big impression on Gaza바카라 게임 웹사이트�s tiny Christian community and was why he was remembered at his death Monday as a beloved father figure in the beleaguered territory.바카라 게임 웹사이트�I was deeply saddened. He was our biggest supporter after God,바카라 게임 웹사이트� said Suheil Abu Dawoud, a 19-year-old Christian in Gaza.Francis 바카라 게임 웹사이트�always healed our wounds and asked us to be strong,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�He was always praying for us.바카라 게임 웹사이트�In his last public appearance, Francis called for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group. A fervent advocate of interfaith relations, he also urged Hamas to release the dozens of Israeli hostages it is holding and condemned growing global antisemitism.In his Easter message, Francis expressed his 바카라 게임 웹사이트�closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.바카라 게임 웹사이트�While noting the growing antisemitism, he added: "I think of the people of Gaza and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation.바카라 게임 웹사이트�The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Some 59 hostages remain in captivity, 24 of them believed to be alive.Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트�s offensive has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Most of Gaza바카라 게임 웹사이트�s 2.3 million people remain homeless.Things have worsened over the past month since Israel ended a ceasefire and imposed a closure blocking all humanitarian aid into Gaza. Aid officials say thousands of children have become malnourished and most people have little more than one meal a day.바카라 게임 웹사이트�I appeal to the warring parties: Call on a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of starving people that aspires to a future of peace!바카라 게임 웹사이트� Francis said in his final address.That appeal also went unheeded. On Monday, Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트�s airstrikes killed at least 14 people, according to medical officials.In Israel, the pope left a more complicated legacy. He was widely appreciated for his outreach to the Jewish people and tough stance against antisemitism. He also was an advocate for freeing the hostages, meeting with their families during the war.Israeli President Isaac Herzog remembered Francis as a man of 바카라 게임 웹사이트�deep faith and boundless compassion.바카라 게임 웹사이트�바카라 게임 웹사이트�I truly hope that his prayers for peace in the Middle East and for the safe return of the hostages will soon be answered,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Herzog wrote on social media.In the past year and a half of war, Francis become increasingly outspoken in his criticism of the Israeli military바카라 게임 웹사이트�s harsh tactics. A month into the war, he urged an investigation into whether Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트�s war amounted to genocide -바카라 게임 웹사이트� a charge Israel vehemently denies.In December, Francis expressed his pain thinking of Gaza, 바카라 게임 웹사이트�of such cruelty, to the machine-gunning of children, to the bombing of schools and hospitals. ... How much cruelty!바카라 게임 웹사이트�The next month, he called the ongoing humanitarian crisis 바카라 게임 웹사이트�very serious and shameful.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Francis was mourned throughout the Arab World and by U.N. officials, including Philippe Lazzarini, head of the agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. He posted on X that the pope바카라 게임 웹사이트�s voice 바카라 게임 웹사이트�has contributed to draw the attention to significant dehumanization of the war in Gaza & beyond.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said Francis was a 바카라 게임 웹사이트�steadfast advocate for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, particularly in his unwavering stance against the war and acts of genocide perpetrated against our people in Gaza in recent months.바카라 게임 웹사이트�The Holy Land바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Christian community has dwindled over the decades through emigration and a low birthrate and makes up just a small percentage of the overall population.Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the U.S. State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024. The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics.Last year, Francis told CBS바카라 게임 웹사이트� 바카라 게임 웹사이트�60 Minutes바카라 게임 웹사이트� that he calls a priest daily at 7 p.m. at the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in Gaza, to hear what is happening to the nearly 600 people sheltering at the facility.바카라 게임 웹사이트�The other day, they were happy because they managed to eat some meat. The rest of the time they eat flour, things made of flour,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Francis told the program. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Sometimes they go hungry and they tell me things. There is a lot of suffering.바카라 게임 웹사이트�바카라 게임 웹사이트�It바카라 게임 웹사이트�s very tough. Very tough. The food arrives, people rush to get it,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he said.The Rev. Gabriele Romanelli, a church official, said Francis' last call came Saturday.Suhair Anastas, a Palestinian woman who was part of a group that met Francis in 2023 after she fled Gaza, said she felt 바카라 게임 웹사이트�great sadness바카라 게임 웹사이트� over his death.Anastas, who is Greek Orthodox, had sheltered at the church compound in Gaza before she left.바카라 게임 웹사이트�He did stand by us, by letting us stay at the church and by taking care of everyone in the church,바카라 게임 웹사이트� she said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�I know he wasn바카라 게임 웹사이트�t able to stop the genocide ... but I don바카라 게임 웹사이트�t know who can.바카라 게임 웹사이트�When she met the pope, Anastas had mixed emotions. The experience was 바카라 게임 웹사이트�breathtaking,바카라 게임 웹사이트� she said, but she added she also felt traumatized, sad and guilty 바카라 게임 웹사이트�that you바카라 게임 웹사이트�re meeting him and others are still under bombardment.바카라 게임 웹사이트�She said she will remember the pope 바카라 게임 웹사이트�for standing with us바카라 게임 웹사이트� to a certain extent, but 바카라 게임 웹사이트�I wish he could have done more.바카라 게임 웹사이트�George Antoun, an official at the church, told The Associated Press the pope's interest gave the community hope and inspiration.Francis was like a father worried for his children and would ask whether there was food, medical care and medicine, he said.바카라 게임 웹사이트�He was with us step by step and day by day,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Antoun said.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Don바카라 게임 웹사이트�t be afraid. I am with you and praying for you and I will protect you,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Antoun quoted Francis as saying. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�He left a big inheritance in Gaza. He is the saint of Gaza.바카라 게임 웹사이트�___Associated Press writer Mariam Fam in Cairo contributed.