Pope Leo urges immediate ceasefire in Gaza and West Bank

Pope Leo XIV has issued a renewed and urgent appeal for peace in the Middle East, calling for an immediate halt to military actions and a return to dialogue amid escalating violence in the Holy Land and a broader regional crisis. The pontiff made his remarks on July 26 during his weekly Angelus address at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

The pope expressed deep concern over civilian casualties in both the occupied West Bank and Gaza. He specifically urged Israel to refrain from further military action in the West Bank and called for the rejection of unilateral decisions that violate the status quo of holy sites, an apparent reference to recent visits by Israeli officials to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.

His appeal follows a deadly confrontation on July 24 in the village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, where four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed. Israeli forces subsequently reinforced their presence across the West Bank. In the aftermath, settler attacks surged, with reports of assaults on Palestinian communities, arson at a mosque near Tulkarm, and live fire incidents that wounded several Palestinians. According to United Nations data, settler...