Pope Leo XIV appealed on Wednesday for a ceasefire in Gaza and called on Israel and Hamas to completely respect international humanitarian law.
"In the Gaza Strip, the intense cries are reaching Heaven more and more from mothers and fathers who hold tightly to the bodies of their dead children," the pontiff said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.
"To those responsible, I renew my appeal: stop the fighting," said the pope. "Liberate all the [captives]. Completely respect humanitarian law."
Leo, elected on 8 May to replace the late Pope Francis, also appealed for an end to the war in Ukraine.
The pope decried new attacks against civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine in the days since Russia launched the most significant aerial attack of the three-year war.
"I renew with vigour my appeal to stop the war and to support every initiative of dialogue and peace," said Leo.
The pope's two appeals, made in Italian, came at the end of his audience, when he added some brief comments to his prepared text.
Francis, who died on 21 April, had been ramping up criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza in the months before his death.
Leo, who celebrates three weeks as pope on Thursday, has now mentioned the war several times. In his first general audience, held last week, he called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
On Wednesday, the pope also said parents in the enclave "are continuously forced to search for a bit of food and a place safer from the bombing."
Israel's assault has killed over 54,000 Palestinians and reduced much of the crowded coastal enclave to rubble.
(Reuters)