May 21 (UPI) -- Newly inaugurated Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday made an appeal to end hostility in Gaza and called for humanitarian aid to enter the war-torn territory with reports suggesting a worsening outlook.
"I renew my heartfelt 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," the pontiff said to tens of thousands of Catholic faithful during his first general audience in St. Peter's Square.
The pope spoke on a cloudy day and called the situation in the Gaza Strip "increasingly worrying and painful."
According to international human rights organizations, Gaza is at a "breaking point" while the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has warned of imminent famine.
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