WASHINGTON — Leadership of the U.S. bishops’ conference are urging Catholics to pray during Holy Week for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.

“Thousands of innocent people have died in this conflict, and thousands more have been displaced and face tremendous suffering. This must stop,” said Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the U.S. Conference of Bishops, and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace.

“As the Church enters Holy Week and Christ’s suffering on the cross and his resurrection are made present to us so vividly, we are connected to the very source of hope. It is that hope that spurs us to call on Catholics here in the United States and all those of goodwill to renew their prayers for an end to the raging Israel-Hamas war,” they said in a March 23 statement.

The bishops quoted Pope Francis’ message about the need to end the war that he addressed in his March 20 general audience in St. Peter’s Square where he said: “We must make every effort to negotiate, to negotiate, to end the war.”

“One cannot move forward in war,” the pope added.

The bishops stressed that necessary next steps should be “a cease-fire and a permanent cessation of war and violence.” They also said “those held hostage must be released and civilians must be protected. To move forward, humanitarian aid must reach those who are in such dire need. “

The bishops added: “As Christians, we are rooted in the hope of the Resurrection, and so we pray for a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land.”

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported March 22 that there have been 31,988 Palestinian deaths and more than 1,200 Israeli deaths since the conflict began Oct. 7. It also reports that 1.7 million people — 75 % of Gazans — have been internally displaced and 1.1 million are “expected to face catastrophic levels of food insecurity.”