The Pontiff was speaking after his Angelus in St Peter’s Square, soon after the Israeli military began a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of the Gaza Strip, saying these pauses would last 10 hours a day.
On Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the starvation crisis was deepening across Gaza.
The UN press service said that out of 15 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza on Thursday, four were denied, three were impeded, one was postponed and two others had to be cancelled by the organisers, with only five missions facilitated.
In his address, Pope Leo renewed his “heartfelt appeal for a ceasefire” and called for the release of hostages and full respect for humanitarian law.
The Gaza War broke out following the October 7, 2023, surprise attack by Hamas militants that left 1200 Israelis dead and more than 250 taken as hostages.
Israel immediately launched a retaliatory offensive in Gaza to oust Hamas from leadership, with the subsequent conflict resulting in the deaths of over 70,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian estimates.
A peace deal made earlier this year has broken down, and Israel has increased its attacks on Gaza, killing thousands of people, most of them civilians.
Read more: https://cathnews.com/2025/07/28/pope-says-gaza-is-being-crushed-by-hunger/
By Charles Collins, Crux
