Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV joined other religious leaders again calling for a cease-fire in Israel's war in Gaza with Hamas, and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to end its "collective punishment" of Palestinians.
"Today I renew a strong appeal both to the parties involved and to the international community, that an end be put to the conflict in the Holy Land, which has caused so much terror, destruction and death," the American-born Pope Leo said Wednesday during his weekly audience in the Vatican attended by thousands.
The U.S. native and leader of the Catholic Church's billions of religious faithful joined his voice with the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Israel, Patriarch Theophilos III, and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa as the pope's representative in Jerusalem.
"It seems that the Israeli government's announcement that 'the gates of hell will open' is indeed taking on tragic forms," the patriarchs wrote Tuesday in their statement.
Related
