Pope Leo XIV on Sunday hailed negotiations between Israel and Hamas as “significant steps forward” to end the Gaza war and the “immense suffering of the Palestinian people.”
“In recent hours, in the dramatic situation in the Middle East, some significant steps forward have been taken in peace negotiations, which I hope will achieve the desired results as soon as possible,” Leo tweeted.
The pontiff called on “all those in positions of responsibility to commit themselves to this path, to bring about a ceasefire and to release the hostages.”
Lamenting what he called “the immense suffering” of Palestinians, the pope called on his followers to pray for this week’s talks to bring about an end to the Gaza war and “lead us towards a just and lasting peace.”
In a separate X post on Sunday afternoon, the U.S.-born pope expressed concern about rising antisemitism around the world, “as unfortunately we saw with the terrorist attack in Manchester a few days ago.”
In an interview published last month, Leo voiced “grave concern” over the situation in Gaza amid the war against Hamas, but stopped short of accusing the Jewish state of committing genocide against Palestinians.
“The word genocide is being thrown around more and more,” the pontiff said in an interview with U.S. journalist Elise Ann Allen for the book “Pope Leo XIV: Global Citizen, Missionary of the 21st Century.”
“Officially, the Holy See does not believe that we can make any declaration at this time about that,” said the pontiff, adding: “There’s a very technical definition about what genocide might be, but more and more people are raising the issue.”
Leo expressed solidarity with Gaza’s civilian population, saying Palestinians had “once again” been forced from their homes and were living in “unacceptable conditions” as a result of the fighting, which was initiated with Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
