Pope Leon calls on Israel to allow humanitarian aid to Gaza

“Resumption my earnest call to allow the entry of the right humanitarian aid and to end the hostilities, the devastating price of which children, the elderly and the sick”, the new pope said in St. Peter's Square.

Leoni épi, who was elected pope on May 8th following the late Pope Francisescu, has mentioned the war in Gaza several times in the first weeks of his papacy.

He offered this prayer at the end of the talk before the audience, adding a few words beyond the prepared text.

In his first message Sunday 11 May, Pope Leon called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for the release of all Israeli hostages being held by the militant group Hamas, who is declared a terrorist organisation by the US and the EU.

Israel said Monday it would allow the entry of aid into Gaza after an 11-week blockade of the enclave, but the United Nations said no aid has been distributed by Tuesday.

Israel announced that it aims to intensify military operations against Hamas and take over the entire Gaza, which has been destroyed by an Israeli air and ground war since Hamas' attack on Israeli communities in October 2023.

He says the blockade is aimed, in part, at imperiling Palestinian militants the deviation and seizure of humanitarian aid. Hamas has denied this. /Periscope/