Pope Francis met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican, their first face-to-face encounter in three years, as the pontiff has become more vocal in his criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, reports. The two men held private talks for a half-hour, the Vatican said but offered few other details about the meeting. A statement said Abbas also met afterwards with the Catholic Church’s top diplomatic officials to discuss the “very serious humanitarian situation in Gaza, where it is hoped that there will be a ceasefire and the release of all hostages as soon as possible”. Abbas said in a statement that he thanked the pope “for his positions in support of achieving a just peace in Palestine based on the two-state solution”.