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They discussed "the need to prevent escalation in the region and
to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East," the White
House said.
The Vatican earlier said the call, which lasted about 20
minutes, "focused on conflict situations in the world and the
need to identify paths to peace."
Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing over 1,400 people.
Israel has since retaliated with deadly air strikes on Gaza, a
45 km-long (25-mile) strip of land that is part of the
Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and home to 2.3 million
people.
Gaza has been ruled politically since 2007 by Hamas. Israel's
air strikes have killed over 4,700 people, Palestinian officials
say.
In his call with Pope Francis, Biden, who is a Catholic,
condemned the attack by Hamas and affirmed the need to protect
civilians in Gaza, the White House said.
They also discussed Biden's recent visit to Israel and efforts
for delivery of food, medicine, and other humanitarian
assistance in Gaza, according to the White House.
The pope has several times called for the release of hostages
taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack. U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken said on Sunday that after the release of two U.S.
citizens on Friday the United States hoped for more hostages to
be freed by Hamas.
Earlier in the day, Francis told crowds in St. Peter's Square he
was deeply saddened by the "grave situation in Gaza," where an
Anglican hospital and a Greek Orthodox church had been bombed.
"Brothers, stop," Pope Francis said.
The head of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) has said the
humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Crispian Balmer
in Vatican City; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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