Pete Davidson began the season premiere of SNL on a more somber note as he took the chance to speak on the conflict which has engulfed Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The comedian kicked off the show to share a few words on the conflict which has already left thousands dead and displaced millions more as the fighting between Hamas and Israel continues to escalate. Davidson didn't pull any punches, saying how the pictures of Israeli and Palestinian children suffering brought him back to his own childhood when he lost his father in the 9/11 attacks when he was only seven-years-old.

Davidson was still able to inject some moments of levity into the monologue, remarking how his mother rented the Eddie Murphy stand-up special Delirious thinking it was a Disney movie and how it made him truly laugh for the first time since losing his father. He said it served as a reminder that comedy can sometimes be the best and, possibly, only way to move forward when tragedy strikes.

Related NewsArticle continues below
Baltimore Orioles Adley Rutschman
2-time All-Star gives glowing review of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Deion Sanders Colorado Football spring game
Deion Sanders lands new documentary series at Netflix
Former HBCU student athlete Xavier Mills has a major starring role in Netflix's hit show "Forever", which was renewed for a Season 2.
Former HBCU athlete makes major appearance in Netflix’s ‘Forever’

From there, it was straight into the first episode of season 49 with Davidson hosting and Ice Spice performing.

The cold open was just another reminder of how far-reaching the impact of the conflict between Israel and Hamas has been felt and the suffering civilians on both sides have been experiencing. News outlets have been flooded with images of the aftermath of Hamas' monstrous acts against Israelis and Palestinian civilians trying to escape the destruction the group has brought down on Gaza.

As it has in the past, though, Saturday Night Live did not shy away from addressing such tragedies head-on while trying to provide viewers a short escape from it. The monologue, in particular, harkened back to the first episode of SNL following the 9/11 attacks in 2001 which opened with then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani flanked by members of the NYPD and FDNY who had been working down at Ground Zero. Even with the tragedy still fresh in the mind of many Americans, the show managed to provide a moment of levity from the pain that many New Yorkers still carry with them.