Pope Leo makes 'heartfelt appeal' to end Israeli attacks in Gaza and West Bank

Pope Leo XIV has urged Israel to refrain from further military action in the occupied West Bank amid preparations for an expansion of Israeli military operations in the territory.

During his weekly Angelus address, Pope Leo said he was following the escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, where settler attacks have surged following Friday's deadly events in the village of Tal, south-west of Nablus, in which four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed.

Israel has also continued its assault on Gaza, where Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least four Palestinians, including the head of police in northern Gaza.

"I continue to follow with deep concern the ongoing and escalating violence in the Holy Land, where, in recent days, many civilians in both the West Bank and in Gaza have once again fallen victim," he said.

Pope Leo called for "a just political solution, founded on the equal dignity and equal rights of every human person", and urged "the rejection of further military actions and unilateral decisions, especially those that violate the respect for and the status quo of the holy places of every religion."

The pope's reference to respecting the status quo at holy sites appeared to allude to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Jewish fast of Tisha B'Av, where he was accompanied by around 4,000 Israeli settlers and prayed at the site.

Ben-Gvir's repeated visits and prayers at the compound have drawn widespread criticism for challenging the longstanding status quo governing the holy site.

Israel reinforced its military presence across the occupied West Bank following Friday's violence in Tal, which the Palestinian Authority described as a "massacre". Four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed during the incident, including at least one reportedly by "friendly fire".

In the aftermath, Israeli settlers attacked several communities across the occupied West Bank, assaulting Palestinians and setting fire to a mosque near Tulkarm. In Far'ata, east of Qalqilya, five Palestinians were wounded by live fire from Israeli settlers.

State-backed settler violence has escalated across the occupied West Bank in recent years. Human rights organisations say the expansion of settlement outposts and attacks on Palestinian communities form part of a broader effort to displace Palestinians and facilitate Israel's de facto annexation of the territory.

Tal is surrounded by several Israeli settlements and outposts, all of which are considered illegal under international law. These include Har Bracha, Yitzhar and Qadumim, as well as several outposts linked to Yitzhar.

Hundreds of former Israeli military and security officials urged US President Donald Trump on Monday to pressure Netanyahu to curb settler violence and what they described as "Jewish terror". Israeli police also arrested nine people protesting settler violence over the weekend.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli settlers had killed 18 Palestinians by mid-July 2026, surpassing the 17 killed during the whole of 2025.