Pope Leo XIV used his first Christmas Day homily on Thursday to remember the people of Gaza "exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold," alongside refugees and displaced persons worldwide, and said the world's many conflicts can only be silenced through dialogue.
Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from the central altar beneath the balustrade of St. Peter's Basilica, adorned with floral garlands and clusters of red poinsettias.
"Since the Word was made flesh, humanity now speaks crying out with God's own desire to encounter us. The Word has pitched His fragile tent among us. How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed to weeks of rain, and wind, and cold?" Leo said.
Israel killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza and destroyed the enclave during its two-year war. A cease-fire was agreed upon in October but Israeli violations have continued unabated.
According to the Gaza government media office, more than 400 Palestinians have since been killed and over a thousand others injured in Israeli attacks.
