Pope Leo XIV offered his strongest rebuke yet of the Israel-Hamas war, joining Christian leaders in the region demanding an end to the “forcible mass displacement of civilians.”
The pontiff fiercely criticized the “collective punishment” taking place in the Gaza Strip during his Wednesday audience, while simultaneously pleading for the immediate release of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.
“Today I renew a strong appeal both to the parties involved and to the international community, that an end be put to the conflict in the Holy Land, which has caused so much terror, destruction, and death,” Pope Leo XIV said.
“I appeal for all hostages to be freed, a permanent ceasefire to be reached, the safe entry of humanitarian aid to be facilitated, and humanitarian law to be fully respected—especially the obligation to protect civilians and the prohibitions against collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,” the Bishop of Rome continued.
He ended his address by asking Christians to ask for the intercession of “Mary, Queen of Peace, source of consolation and of hope.”
The Israeli military continues to expand operations on the outskirts of Gaza City as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to push it into the final stronghold of Hamas control.
Israeli relations with local Christian churches have become increasingly fraught following a series of lethal attacks on Catholic churches in the Palestinian territories since the conflict began.
Christian churches have also been threatened with financial insolvency after Israeli officials threatened to reverse the status quo arrangement that allows them to hold property and operate charities without taxation.
The pontiff’s statement follows a joint appeal from Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III on Tuesday to end the “spiral of violence” in which tens of thousands of combatants and civilians have died.
“It seems that the Israeli government’s announcement that ‘the gates of hell will open’ is indeed taking on tragic forms,” they said. “The experience of past campaigns in Gaza, the declared intentions of the Israeli government with regard to the current operation, and the reports now reaching us from the ground, show that the operation is not just a threat, but a reality that is already in the process of being implemented.”
“This is not the right way,” the two patriarchs continued. “There is no reason to justify the deliberate and forcible mass displacement of civilians. It is time to end this spiral of violence, to put an end to war, and to prioritize the common good of the people. There has been enough devastation in the territories and in people’s lives. There is no reason to justify keeping civilians as prisoners and hostages in dramatic conditions. It is now time for the healing of the long-suffering families on all sides.”
Pope Leo XIV has leaned heavily into the papacy’s role as a universal advocate for peace, issuing a similar pacifist message one day ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
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“Let us pray that efforts to bring wars to an end and to promote peace may bear fruit, and that in negotiations the common good of peoples may always be placed first,” Leo said.
He has also advocated “responsibility and reason” in dealing with Iran.