Pete Davidson talks Israel and Hamas in 'SNL' cold open: 'No one deserves to suffer'

"Saturday Night Live" is back after five long months, but it opened on a rather somber note, even after so long without laughs.

NBC's sketch comedy institution, which has been absent from the airwaves since April after the Writers Guild of America went on strike, returned Saturday with former cast member Pete Davidson as host. And while there were plenty of jokes at the expense of the NFL and Davidson himself, the episode started on a serious note.

Addressing the camera directly, Davidson opened the show talking about the Israel-Hamas war and the violence that has been blanketing the news this week.

"This week we saw the horrible images and stories from Israel and Gaza. And I know what you're thinking, 'Who better to comment on it than Pete Davidson?' Well, in a lot of ways, I am a good person to talk about it because when I was 7 years old, my dad was killed in a terrorist attack. So, I know something about what that's like," he said, referencing his own father's death as a New York City firefighter who died in the Sept. 11 attacks. "I saw so many terrible pictures this week of children suffering ― Israeli children, Palestinian children ― and it took me back to a horrible, horrible place. You know, no one in this world deserves to suffer, especially not kids."

Davidson continued: "After my dad died, my mom tried everything, pretty much everything she knew, to cheer me up. I remember one day when I was 8 she got me what she thought was a Disney movie, but it was actually the Eddie Murphy standup special 'Delirious.' And we played it in the car on the way home, and when she heard the things Eddie Murphy was saying, she tried to take it away. But then she noticed for the first time in a long time I was laughing again," Davidson said. "I don't understand it, I really don't and I never will, but sometimes comedy is really the only way forward through tragedy. My heart is with everyone whose lives have been destroyed this week. But tonight I'm gonna do what I've always done in the face of tragedy and that's try to be funny. Remember, I said try. And live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"

After the credits rolled, Davidson was back to his usual brand of vulgar, honest humor with a monologue that included incest, drug addiction, death and his home borough of Staten Island.

"Me and my sister both never saw 'Game of Thrones. I know! I know! I didn't know! It's the No. 1 show in the world. I had no idea how sick it was. I thought it was about dragons!" he joked. "Hardly any dragons, lots of incest! So much incest! ... It's a very weird show to watch when you're trying to find common ground with your sister."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'SNL': Pete Davidson addresses Israel-Hamas war in Season 49 cold open