“I renew my appeal to allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to put an end to the hostilities, whose heartbreaking price is paid by the children, elderly, and the sick.”
Pope Leo XIV made that appeal toward the conclusion of his first General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on 21 May, Vatican News reported.
In his remarks to Italian pilgrims, he said, “The situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly worrying and painful.”
The humanitarian emergency in Gaza is at a breaking point, according to international organizations. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), supported by the UN, is warning of an imminent famine.
According to aid agencies, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has intensified as Israeli airstrikes on May 20 resulted in many Palestinian deaths, including children, amid ongoing military operations that have killed tens of thousands of people since October 2023.
Despite Israel permitting a limited number of aid trucks into Gaza, international criticism has mounted, with calls for Israel to halt its military campaign and ease aid restrictions.
Moreover, the United Nations has expressed concern for the unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza.
MNA
