Pope Prays for Mother of Killed Israeli Hostage

Pope Francis sent his thoughts to the mother of one of the six Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered in Gaza in early September, on Sunday during an address at the Vatican.

“I think of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, found dead in early September with five other hostages in Gaza,” Francis said.

“In November last year, I met his mother, Rachel, who impressed me with her humanity. I accompany her at this moment,” he added.

Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin was captured during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that ignited the Israel-Hamas war.

His body was recovered by the Israeli army in early September along with that of five other hostages in a tunnel under Gaza's southern city of Rafah.

His parents, U.S.-born immigrants to Israel, became perhaps the most high-profile relatives of hostages on the international stage.

They met with U.S. President Joe Biden , Pope Francis and others and addressed the United Nations, urging the release of all hostages.

The pontiff also expressed his closeness “to the people of Vietnam and Myanmar who are suffering from the floods caused by a violent typhoon.”

The death toll in Myanmar from flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi has reached at least 74, with 89 people missing, Myanmar’s state television said Saturday.

Difficulties in compiling information have raised fears that the number of casualties may be higher.