Today Pope Leo XIV ended his General Audience in St. Peter’s Square with a renewal of his appeal to end the starvation and the suffering in Gaza: “In the Gaza Strip, the cry of mothers, of fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of children and who are continually forced to move in search of a little food and safer shelter from bombing, rises ever more intensely to the sky. I renew my appeal to the leaders: cease fire, release all hostages, fully respect humanitarian law. Mary Queen of Peace, pray for us.”
In last week’s General Audience, he had stated: “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.” And he had told Italian pilgrims: “The situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly worrying and painful.” Today, the Times of Israel also took note of the Pope’s appeal.
Also today, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking to Parliament, added his voice to the growing chorus objecting to Israel’s continued assault on the Gaza Strip. “The legitimate reaction of the Israeli government to a terrible and senseless act of terrorism is unfortunately taking absolutely dramatic and unacceptable forms, which we call on Israel to stop immediately…. The bombing must end, humanitarian assistance must resume as soon as possible, respect for international humanitarian law must be restored.” His government has come under pressure from Italy’s opposition parties, who have announced a June 7 demonstration in Rome, demanding sanctions against Israel and Italian recognition of the State of Palestine. A lawmaker from the 5-Star Movement, Riccardo Ricciardi, stated: “The levels of political, moral and intellectual squalor that all of you, Italian and European ruling classes, are reaching, will condemn you as those who are complicit in extermination, genocide and inhuman crime.”
Even Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz weighed in on the issue yesterday, now with stronger language: “We are dismayed by the fate of the civilian population and the terrible suffering of the civilian population” in Gaza. He questioned the IDF’s expanded operations inside Gaza and declared that he “no longer sees any logic as to how they serve the goal of fighting terror and freeing the hostages. In this respect, I take a very, very critical view of what has happened in the last few days. I am also not among those who said it first…. But it seemed and seems to me that the time has come when I must say publicly—what is currently happening is no longer comprehensible.… We are now at a point where we have to think very carefully about what further steps to take.” Israel’s Ambassador to Berlin Ron Prosor also took note, telling the ZDF broadcaster: “When Friedrich Merz raises this criticism of Israel, we listen very carefully because he is a friend.” Yet when asked about German weaponry exported to Israel, he dodged the question.
Such belated, partial recognition of the horrific reality going on is of course welcome, as are the growing protests inside Israel. The only question is whether this will add up to enough to actually stop it, before every Gazan is killed.
