In his first weekly general audience, Pope Leo XIV made an emotional appeal for unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza, calling the situation “worrying and painful” as critical shortages of food and medicine continue to devastate the civilian population.
“The heartbreaking price of this war is being paid by children, the elderly, the sick,” said the newly elected pontiff in St. Peter’s Square. The first American pope, Leo XIV, has made peace a central theme of his papacy, calling early for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The United Nations reported this week that aid deliveries resumed for the first time since Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2. However, humanitarian groups, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), warn that the limited aid allowed in is “woefully inadequate.”
Aid Trickles In, But Crisis Deepens
Under pressure from allies, including the U.S., Israel has recently allowed some aid trucks into Gaza, reporting 93 trucks on Tuesday. However, the UN stated that much of the aid is held up at the border, and MSF described Israel’s easing of restrictions as “a smokescreen.”
“The decision to allow a ridiculously inadequate amount of aid… signals their intention to avoid the accusation of starving people, while in fact keeping them barely surviving,” said Pascale Coissard, MSF emergency coordinator in Khan Younis.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the insufficiency of the aid but expressed optimism about the resumed flow. He reiterated U.S. support for eliminating Hamas, saying Gaza’s future depends on a leadership change.
Human Cost of the War Mounts
The Gaza Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, reports more than 53,500 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, many of them women and children. The Israeli military continues its offensive, stating its aim is to recover the remaining hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken into Gaza.
Israel considers Hamas a terrorist organisation, as do the U.S. and European Union, and has vowed to continue military operations until Hamas is disarmed and dismantled.
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