<div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Francis on Wednesday slammed the "terrible escalation" of the conflict in Lebanon as "unacceptable", after Israeli bombings in the south of the country targeting Hezbollah killed hundreds of people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I am saddened by the news coming out of Lebanon... but I hope that the international community will make every effort to stop this terrible escalation. This is unacceptable, I express my closeness to the Lebanese people, who have already suffered too much in the recent past," Francis said. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>