Pope Leo decries 'special interests' and MidEast wars, calls Gaza 'inhumane'
Pope Leo XIV decried on Thursday the escalating violence in the Middle East and called for renewed respect for international law, warning that the region has become “ravaged” by wars.
What happened: “Today, violent conflict seems to be raging in the Christian East with a diabolical intensity previously unknown,” Leo said. His remarks came during a meeting at the Vatican with Catholic bishops and aid organizations working in the Middle East.
“Our hearts bleed when we think of Ukraine, the tragic and inhumane situation in Gaza and the Middle East, ravaged by the spread of war,” the pope said.
The comments came after a 12-day war between Iran and Israel, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on June 24.
The war began when Israel launched a surprise airstrike on June 13, targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites. In retaliation, Iran unleashed sustained missile and drone strikes over the following days against Israeli cities. The conflict also drew in the United States, which carried out airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22, prompting Iran to strike the United States’ Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
At least 610 Iranians were killed by Israeli strikes, according to Iran’s Ministry of Health, and at least 28 people were killed in Israel by the Iranian strikes, according to Israel’s Ministry of Health.
While the Iran-Israel ceasefire appears to be holding, the war in Gaza continues. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 56,200 people, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA. Hamas’ initial attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, and more than 400 soldiers have been killed while fighting in Gaza.
“It is truly distressing to see the principle of ‘might makes right’ prevailing in so many situations today, all for the sake of legitimizing the pursuit of self-interest,” he said.
“It is troubling to see that the force of international law and humanitarian law seems no longer to be binding, replaced by the alleged right to coerce others,” the pontiff added.
The pope said that countries in the Middle East are being “devastated by wars, plundered by special interests and covered by a cloud of hatred that renders the air unbreathable and toxic.”
Background: Pope Leo was elected on May 8 to replace Pope Francis, who died on April 21. The first American pope appealed last month for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
On May 28, the pope made similar comments on the situation in the region, particularly surrounding the Gaza Strip where “the intense cries are reaching Heaven more and more from mothers and fathers who hold tightly to the bodies of their dead children,” the pope said.
He called for a ceasefire, respect for international law and the release of the hostages by Hamas. Hamas currently holds 50 hostages, at least 27 of whom are believed to be dead.
Pope Leo’s stances on the region were not well known before his ascendancy to the papacy, but he is increasingly seen as ideologically similar to his predecessor Pope Francis, who repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza, including calling for an investigation into whether Israel’s campaign in Gaza constituted genocide.
Leo has repeatedly made anti-war statements in his speeches, including references to Ukraine and Gaza.
Know more: According to WAFA, 44 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since dawn on Thursday, following a day of heavy Israeli casualties in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. WAFA reported that the Palestinian deaths were the result of Israeli airstrikes and shelling near Gaza City and Khan Younis.
On Tuesday, an Israeli military lieutenant, three staff sergeants and three sergeants — all part of Israel’s 605th Combat Engineering Battalion — were killed when an explosive device planted on the vehicle they were traveling in caught fire, the Israeli military said on Wednesday, marking the deadliest day in Gaza for Israeli soldiers since Israel and Hamas brokered a now-defunct ceasefire in March.
Meanwhile, Israel halted aid deliveries into Gaza for two days to prevent supplies from being seized by Hamas, an Israeli official told Reuters on Thursday. This came after images surfaced showing masked men on aid trucks.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the US Agency for International Development had authorized a $30 million grant to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — the first material support the US government has offered the organization.
The organization has faced scrutiny over its militarized aid distribution system. On Monday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said that 467 people had been killed while waiting for aid near or at the organization’s distribution sites since it began operating in May. In early June, the GHF denied reports of violence at its sites.
Humanitarian aid in Gaza has been repeatedly disrupted, including a stretch that lasted from March to late May. On June 19, the United Nations Children’s Fund said that levels of malnourishment in Gaza are rising at “an alarming rate,” with over 5,000 children admitted for treatment of malnutrition in May.
