ROME, December 28, 2008 (WAFA)- Pope Benedict XVI denounced, Sunday, violence in the Palestinian Territory and urged everyone involved in the 'tragic situation in the Middle East' to strive for humanity and wisdom.

'I implore an end to the violence which must be denounced in all its forms and a restoration of the truce on the Gaza Strip,' he said in his weekly Angelus prayer.

'The terrestrial homeland of Jesus cannot continue to be the witness of such bloodshed which is repeated ad infinitum,' he told thousands of pilgrims.

The Pope also expressed his deep sadness for the deaths and injuries, by the material damage, the suffering and the tears of the population, victims of this series of tragic attacks.

Israel has launched massive air strikes in the Strip that have killed at least 285 people and injured over 900, since Saturday.