Pope Leo XIV has called on Israel to halt the “collective punishment” and forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, urging for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in the blockaded region as Israel prepares for a new military attack, reports Breaking News.
During his weekly general audience at the Vatican auditorium, attended by thousands, Leo was twice interrupted by applause as he delivered his urgent plea to end the 22-month conflict.
The first American pope in history also demanded the release of hostages taken by Hamas in southern Israel—50 of whom remain in Gaza—and urged all parties and international actors to stop the war “which has caused so much terror, destruction and death,” reports Breaking News.
“I beg for a permanent ceasefire to be reached, the safe entry of humanitarian aid to be facilitated and humanitarian law to be fully respected,” Leo declared, reports Breaking News.
He referenced international law, emphasizing the duty to protect civilians and “the prohibition of collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population,” reports Breaking News.
Palestinians in Gaza are preparing for a wider offensive promised by Israel in some of the most densely populated areas, including Gaza City, where famine has been both documented and officially declared.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced plans for an assault on Gaza City while also pursuing a ceasefire, though Israel has not yet dispatched negotiators to discuss the proposal currently on the table, reports Breaking News.
Netanyahu argues that the offensive is the best way to weaken Hamas and secure the release of hostages, but families and supporters of the hostages have pushed back, warning it will place them in greater danger.
Hamas seized 251 hostages during the October 7, 2023 attack that also resulted in about 1,200 deaths and triggered the ongoing war.
Most hostages have been freed during prior ceasefires or other agreements, reports Breaking News.
Israel has rescued eight hostages alive.
Of the 50 still believed to be in Gaza, Israeli officials estimate around 20 remain alive.
Leo highlighted a joint statement by the Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem, who confirmed that priests and nuns at the two Christian churches in Gaza City will remain despite Israeli evacuation orders ahead of the Gaza City offensive, reports Breaking News.
They said that those taking shelter in the churches are too weak and malnourished to move, and forcing them out would amount to a “death sentence.”
The Holy Family Catholic church and the Saint Porphyrius Orthodox church have provided refuge for hundreds of Palestinian civilians during the conflict, including elderly, women, children, and people with disabilities, reports Breaking News.
Even during his final days in the hospital, Pope Francis kept in daily contact with the Holy Family parish priest to show solidarity and support for those cared for by the nuns of Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity order.
In their joint declaration, Catholic Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III recalled that just last weekend, Leo issued a strong statement defending the rights of people to remain in their homelands and not be forced to move, reports Breaking News.
“All peoples, even the smallest and weakest, must be respected by the powerful in their identity and rights, especially the right to live in their own lands; and no-one can force them into exile,” Leo said on Saturday to a group of forced refugees from the Indian Ocean archipelago Chagos, remarks clearly aimed at a wider audience.
Netanyahu has stated that Gaza’s population should relocate to other countries through what his government calls voluntary emigration, reports Breaking News.
Human rights groups have condemned this, and Palestinians worry that even if they leave temporarily to escape the war, Israel might never allow them to return.
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