What to know as Pope Francis embarks on longest trip of papacy
Pope Francis is welcomed during his arrival at SoekarnoHatta International Airport in Jakarta on Sept. 3, 2024. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images)
(JAKARTA, Indonesia) — Pope Francis on Monday embarked on his 45th and most ambitious trip of his papacy, both in terms of distance and duration.
It’s a 12-day, four-country, two-continent odyssey; with stops in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore.
This is not his first journey to the region: Early in his pontificate, he made four long-distance trips to South Korea, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Japan. In more recent years he has also visited Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and, last year, Mongolia.
The historic voyage comes amid recent concerns regarding his health. The Pope suffers from mobility issues and has been repeatedly hospitalized with respiratory illnesses.
As he often does, on Monday he boarded the Papal plane in a wheelchair, using a lift. He later used a cane to walk down the aisle to greet reporters, but appeared to be in good spirits. Francis turns 88 in just three months; this marks the first time he’s left Italy in almost a year.
In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, the Pope’s message will focus on interreligious dialogue and cultural plurality, according to the Vatican. Francis will deliver remarks at Jakarta’s famed Istiqlal Mosque, alongside Indonesia’s Grand Imam.
Later the Pope will visit the “Tunnel of Fraternity” linking the mosque to a nearby Catholic church. The underground lane was recently built as a symbol of religious harmony.
On the eve of this departure, Pope Francis appealed for “concrete commitment” to tackle climate change. Francis will also travel to more remote parts of the country to meet with missionaries. According to Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni, some of the trip’s other themes include social and technological development, as we well as the environment and the need to combat climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, one of the world’s poorest countries, Pope Francis will stop in Port Moresby, one of the most dangerous cities in the world.
The Pope will then head to Timor-Leste, Asia’s newest country, where he’ll be confronted with the aftermath of another clergy sex abuse scandal. The Pope’s first visit to the country comes just two years after the Vatican sanctioned independence hero Bishop Carlos Ximenes for having sexually abused young boys.
Many in the deeply Catholic country have brushed aside the allegations, choosing instead to continue celebrating the Nobel Peace Prize winner as a figure who saved lives during the country’s bloody struggle for Independence. It’s unclear if Francis will address the issue or meet with some of the victims, as he has in the past in other countries.
And in Singapore, the pope will again focus on how different religions can live in harmony.
“Pope Francis will especially meet young people engaged in interreligious dialogue, entrusting them with the future of this path, so that they may become protagonists of a more fraternal and peaceful world,” Cardinal Piero Parolin told Vatican Media.
His trip to Singapore is also widely seen as an attempt to improve ties with China, a constant diplomatic push by the Vatican over recent years, in the hope of improving circumstances for Catholics in China. The pope has previously said it is his dream to visit the country. Three-quarters of the city state’s population of Singapore are ethnically Chinese, and Mandarin is one of four official languages.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.
Famine risk looming in north Gaza, health officials warn
Acute food insecurity is a concern across Gaza, but the issue is especially pressing in the northern part of the strip where the Israeli military’s ongoing assault has intensified in recent weeks.
Dr. Abu Safiyeh — who works at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya — said the besieged facility is running out of all food, collecting video footage of the deteriorating situation there.
Safiyeh’s warning followed a statement last week from the United Nations’ food assistance arm warning that “the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza could soon escalate into a famine unless immediate action is taken.”
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Joe Simonetti
Gaza situation ‘has not significantly turned around,’ US says
The State Department said Monday that Israel has not done enough to improve humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, as a 30-day deadline looms for Israeli officials to meet certain requirements or risk potential restrictions on military assistance.
The U.S. set out its conditions in a letter sent to Israeli officials last month and signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The letter gave Israel until Nov. 12 to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian territory.
“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
“We have seen an increase in some measurements,” Miller continued. “We’ve seen an increase in the number of crossings that are open. But just if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met.”
Miller did not say what steps the U.S. would take if the situation did not improve before the deadline. “I don’t want to forecast in any way what it is that we’ll do at the end of those 30 days,” he said.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Joe Simonetti
Deadly Israeli strikes continue in Gaza
Around 30 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to Palestinian health officials.
At least 20 people — including eight women and six children — were killed by an airstrike on a home sheltering several displaced families in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.
The town is at the heart of Israel’s most recent offensive in the northern part of the strip, which officials at the Hamas-run Health Ministry say has killed around 1,800 people and injured another 4,000.
Separate strikes elsewhere in Gaza killed at least 10 people, health officials said.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Joe Simonetti
Death toll in Lebanon crosses 3,000: Health ministry
More than 3,000 have been killed since the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began over a year ago, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Sixteen people were killed in Lebanon on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 3,002, it said.
60 rockets fired into Israel, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said that at least 60 rockets were fired into Israel by Hezbollah on Monday.
Some of the rockets were intercepted and others fell “in open areas,” the IDF wrote on X.
The IDF also said it attacked one Hezbollah launcher suspected of firing up to 30 rockets, posting what it said was a video of the strike to its X page.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israeli strikes kill 31 in Gaza, health officials say
Palestinian medics said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people in Gaza on Sunday.
Almost half of the deaths occurred in northern areas, health officials said, where Israel Defense Forces troops are pressing an intense campaign intended to root out surviving Hamas fighters and stop its units from regrouping.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that around 1,800 people have been killed and 4,000 injured by Israel’s north Gaza campaign, with “widespread destruction of hospitals and infrastructure.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Guy Davies
IDF says 4 drones intercepted in north and east
The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Monday that military aircraft intercepted four drones.
Some of the unmanned aircraft were intercepted after crossing into Israel from Lebanon, while the others were shot down before entering the east of the country from the direction of Syria and Iraq, the IDF said.
IDF claims killing of Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it killed Hezbollah’s commander of the Baraachit area of southern Lebanon in an airstrike.
The IDF said Abu Ali Rida was responsible for rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on Israeli forces and commanded Hezbollah units in the Nabatieh area.
Israel notifies UN of plans to terminate cooperation with UNRWA
The Israeli government notified the United Nations of its plans to terminate cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in a letter to the president of the U.N. General Assembly on Sunday.
UNRWA is the main U.N. agency operating in Gaza and is responsible for coordinating and supplying humanitarian aid. It also operates in the West Bank. The Israeli government has accused UNRWA of having ties to Hamas. After the initial accusations, the U.N. conducted an internal investigation, and some UNRWA staff members were fired.
Israel maintains that UNRWA still has ties to Hamas. But aid organizations warn if the agency stops operating in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis there will only worsen.
Israel’s termination of UNRWA in the country follows legislation passed by Israel’s parliament at the end of October severing the country’s ties with the organization.
Israel’s governmental body passed two bills — one banning UNRWA from operating in Israel, including in east Jerusalem, and another prohibiting any Israeli state or government agency from working with UNRWA or anyone on its behalf.
The legislation has a three-month waiting period before it goes into effect. It is set to go into effect at the end of January.
Israeli Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jacob Blitshtein wrote in the letter released Sunday that Israel will “continue to work with international partners, including other United Nations agencies, to ensure the facilitation of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not undermine Israel’s security.”
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Northern Gaza hospital says Israeli artillery fire injured children
The Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza said Israeli artillery fire hit a floor of the hospital, injuring children who were being treated there.
The hospital also said there was heavy bombing overnight on the block where it is located, threatening the nearby Al Yemen al Saeed Hospital.
The hospital director said in a statement on Sunday the glass of the doors and windows of the facility were shattered by the force of the blasts.
(LONDON) — Anti-government demonstrators gathered in the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for a second day of protests after the killing of six hostages, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conclude a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.
Street protests resumed across the country on Monday, coinciding with a general strike called by Israel’s largest trade union — Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, which has hundreds of thousands of members — which has caused disruptions to services in some areas of the country.
Protesters broke through barriers near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Monday as they demanded progress on a deal to return the hostages in Gaza.
The current wave of demonstrations were sparked by the recovery of the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday — among them Israeli-American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The Israel Defense Forces said the captives were killed by militants “shortly” before their discovery.
The killings prompted fury in Israel, where some place blame for the deaths on Netanyahu’s months-long failure to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas.
During a press conference Monday evening, Netanyahu asked for forgiveness from the families of the six slain hostages.
“I ask you for forgiveness that we did not succeed to bring your loved ones back alive. We were close, but we did not succeed,” Netanyahu said.
Amid the protests, airlines operating out of Ben-Gurion International Airport temporarily halted some flights on Monday morning due to the strike, according to the airport. The union said Sunday the strike was only expected to affect some departing flights. The general strike was expected to last until Monday at about 2:30 p.m. local time, according to union Chairman Arnon Bar-David.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a statement while expressing his support for the general strike: “They were alive. Netanyahu and the death cabinet decided not to save them. There are still live hostages there, a deal can still be made. Netanyahu is not doing it for political reasons.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, meanwhile, posted on X linking the deaths of the six captives to Netanyahu’s reported decision last week to retain military control of the Philadelphi Corridor — the strip of land running along the Gaza-Egypt border — despite Hamas objections. Gallant called for the security cabinet to immediately reverse the decision in order to save the remaining hostages.
Public anger flared on Sunday night with hundreds of thousands of Israelis taking to the streets, with some engaging in clashes with police. Authorities said 29 people were arrested in Tel Aviv, as protesters set fire to barricades and launched fireworks.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the continued failure of cease-fire and hostage-release talks.
“Whoever murders hostages – does not want a deal,” the prime minister said in a statement released on Sunday. “Hamas is continuing to steadfastly refuse all proposals.”
“The government of Israel is committed, and I am personally committed, to continue striving toward a deal that will return all of our hostages and ensure our security and our existence,” he added.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of intentionally sabotaging negotiations by adding unacceptable new demands, which it said were “aimed at obstructing reaching an agreement to preserve his power.”
Some of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have pushed back on the protesters’ demands for a deal.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for example, noted in a post on X that he was seeking legal action to break up the general strike. Its organizers, he said, “will not be allowed to turn the country upside down.”
Strikers, he added, “serve the interests of [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar and Hamas.”
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The Biden administration has announced plans to expand the influential United Nations Security Council by adding two permanent seats for African nations — an initiative that will likely face an uphill battle in the body and could spark pushback from other countries that have long sought permanent membership.
“It’s what our African partners seek, and we believe, this is what it’s what is just,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in announcing the plan during a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday.
But the administration’s plan comes with an important caveat: Unlike the other permanent members of the Council — China, France, Great Britain, Russia, and the U.S. — the African representatives would not have the power to veto any resolution that comes before the body.
The African Union has already rejected the prospect of denying veto power to the new permanent members from the continent, but a senior administration official argued that even without it, the seats would still have great benefits for Africa.
“Representation is a part of it. Permanent representation does offer perspective and the durability of that perspective on the Council that is otherwise not afforded necessarily by a rotating seat,” the official said. “I can tell you that when we have been briefing these ideas to some of those partners in recent days, we have had an enthusiastic reception.”
The official acknowledged there are still “questions that will need to be worked out,” including determining which countries would fill the new spots. Thomas-Greenfield did not explicitly say which U.N. members the administration would endorse but spoke positively about recent contributions from Kenya and Gabon during her remarks.
This is not the first time the administration has sought to expand the Security Council. In 2022, President Biden announced he supported “increasing the number of both permanent and non-permanent representatives,” with representatives from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. He has also endorsed Germany, India, and Japan for permanent spots.
However, Biden’s push to expand the Council — and a host of other U.S. initiatives — have faced consistent gridlock from Russia and China.
A senior official denied that the administration’s new, narrower focus on adding African representatives was an admission that broader expansion and the inclusion of ardent U.S. allies like Germany and Japan was currently unachievable.
“The proposals that we’re putting forward today are additive to what we’ve said over the years,” they said. “But our view on this is that we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and we can and should still try to achieve a reformed Council that is more representative, is more credible, and ultimately more effective in addressing the challenges and opportunities that the world faces today. “
Thomas-Greenfield also announced that the administration would move to add a new, elected position on the Security Council to serve as an envoy for small developing island nations. If successful, it would be the first cross-regional seat.
The ambassador concluded by declaring that the U.S. was prepared to move forward with “text-based negotiations” aimed at making the vision a reality.
“This may seem weedy, inside-baseball news. But it’s actually a big deal,” she said. “It means we’re ready to work with other countries to negotiate language, prepare amendments, and ready this resolution for a vote in the General Assembly, and ultimately amend the U.N. Charter.”
