Pope urges leaders to commit to plan for peace in Gaza

‘I ask all those in positions of responsibility to commit themselves to this path. I urge everyone to remain united in prayer, so that the ongoing efforts may lead us towards a just and lasting peace.’

Pope Leo urged world leaders to commit to a proposed peace deal for Gaza as it gained momentum over the weekend.

“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,” he said before the Angelus on Sunday morning, after US President Donald Trump said Israel and Hamas were willing to accept his plan.

The Israeli government announced that its negotiators would begin indirect talks with Hamas in Egypt on Monday, while Hamas reportedly accepted in principle the release of all hostages and its surrender of political power in Gaza, in exchange for the withdrawal of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

“I ask all those in positions of responsibility to commit themselves to this path, to bring about a ceasefire and to release the hostages,” Pope Leo said. “At the same time, I urge everyone to remain united in prayer, so that the ongoing efforts may put an end to the war and lead us towards a just and lasting peace.”

He also condemned “the rise of antisemitic hatred” around the world, specifying the attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Thursday, and said he was “saddened by the immense suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza”. The Gaza health ministry reported on Sunday that it had confirmed 67,139 deaths in IDF attacks since 7 October 2023.

Earlier in the week, Leo described the 20-point US plan as “a realistic proposal” with “very interesting elements”.

It requires Hamas to release the 48 hostages it still holds, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, within a 72-hour period. The US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Israel would need to stop strikes on Gaza for the release to take place. A ceasefire would also allow humanitarian aid into the territory.

Fr Gabriel Romanelli IVE, the parish priest of the only Catholic church in Gaza, told Vatican News he was “hopeful but at the same time pragmatic” about the plan, noting that similar proposals had failed in recent months.

Speaking on Saturday, he said strikes continued close to his Holy Family Church in the northern district, which the IDF still designated a combat zone that civilians should evacuate.

“We can do nothing but pray and continue to hope that this all ends soon,” he said, adding that this would mean the end of the bombardment, the release of hostages and prisoners, and humanitarian support for Palestinians – particularly children.

“We know that it is very complicated and that a ceasefire is not the same as peace,” Romanelli said, but prayed that “the Lord of peace will illuminate the minds and hearts of those who will have to implement this plan”.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa said there was “something new and positive on the horizon” and that an end to the war “now seems very close”, but warned that this was “only the first – necessary and indispensable – step on a treacherous path” to peace in the Holy Land.

“Many problems remain. The conflict will continue to be an integral part of the personal and communal life of our Church for a long time,” the patriarch said in a message to his diocese on Saturday.

“We don’t know if this war will truly end, but we do know the conflict will continue because its root causes have yet to be addressed,” he said. “We have a long road ahead to rebuild trust among ourselves, to make hope tangible, and to free ourselves from the hatred of these years. But we will strive for this, together with the many men and women here who still believe it is possible to imagine a different future.”

Christians in the Holy Land “are not here to make a political statement or to provide a strategic analysis”, Cardinal Pizzaballa said. “The world is already full of such words, which rarely change the reality.”

Earlier in the week he had criticised the Global Sumud Flotilla – made up of around 40 boats carrying almost 500 activists, including Italian parliamentarians and the campaigner Greta Thunberg – which Israeli authorities intercepted as it attempted to deliver aid to Gaza.

Such action “does not bring anything concrete to the people of Gaza”, Pizzaballa said. “It does not decisively change the situation.”

The patriarchate offered to distribute the flotilla’s aid supplies after the Israeli authorities said they would prevent the boats breaking the blockade of Gaza. The flotilla declined the offer and most of its boats and those aboard were detained on Thursday about 90 nautical miles from the Gazan coast, prompting protests across Europe including a general strike in Italy.

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