Head of the Catholic church Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday urged the global community to push for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, calling for the release of hostages and safe delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Speaking at his weekly audience in the Vatican, he said, "I once again issue a strong appeal ... so that an end may be put to the conflict in the Holy Land, which has caused so much terror, destruction, and death."
The pontiff called for a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages held in Gaza, and the facilitation of humanitarian aid, stressing that "international humanitarian law must be fully respected."
While he did not directly name Israel or Hamas, he highlighted obligations under international law, including "the obligation to protect civilians, prohibitions against collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of the population."
Elected in May as the first American Pope to succeed Francis, Leo has generally shown a more reserved style, preferring scripted remarks.
Still, he has repeatedly pressed Israel to allow greater humanitarian access to Gaza.
Earlier in the August, American Popstar Madonna urged the Pope to visit Gaza and "shine his light" on the children there, for which the singer received backlash citing her close ties to Israel.
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Pope Leo will embark on his first trip outside Italy as the leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, travelling to Türkiye and Lebanon, where he is expected to make appeals for peace in the region.
Pope Leo XIV celebrated his 70th birthday on Sunday at St. Peter’s Square, blessing the faithful and receiving messages from around the world, including from world leaders and children.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Residents in Syria’s Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli have stepped up volunteer patrols amid growing pressure from the country’s Islamist-led government, expressing deep mistrust of Damascus despite a fragile U.S.-backed ceasefire.
Liverpool confirmed direct qualification to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 with a 6-0 win over Qarabağ at Anfield in their final league-phase match. Despite the setback, Qarabağ secured a play-off spot, with results elsewhere going in the Azerbaijani champions’ favour on the final matchday.
Iraq's former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said on Wednesday that he rejects U.S. interference in Iraq's internal affairs, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut off support to the country if Maliki was picked as prime minister.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa stressed to U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call on Tuesday the importance of unifying international efforts to prevent the return of "terrorist groups", including Islamic State.
“For some weeks now, we have been seeing with increasing clarity the emergence of a world of great powers,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday (29 January), declaring that Europe had found “self-respect” in standing up for a rules-based global order.
Colombian authorities on Wednesday (28 January) located a missing plane carrying 15 people in the northeast of the country, with no survivors found, an Air Force source and local media said.
Chinese authorities say they've carried out capital punishment against a group of individuals tied to notorious telecommunications fraud syndicates operating across the southern border, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party is likely to increase its number of parliamentary seats and gain a majority in the lower house, a preliminary survey by the Nikkei newspaper showed on Thursday (29 January).
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