Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech during the weekly general audience at St Peter's Square at The Vatican. AFP
The pontiff tweeted on his official account on X, "From #Gaza, the cries of parents rise to heaven ever more intensely as they clutch the lifeless bodies of their children, searching for food and shelter from bombs."
The Pope added that he "renews… appeal to leaders: cease fire, release all hostages, and fully respect international humanitarian law!"
The health ministry in Gaza said Wednesday that Israel has killed at least 3,924 people in the Palestinian territory since it ended a ceasefire on 18 March, taking the war's overall toll to 54,084, mostly women and children.
Palestinians have become increasingly desperate for food as nearly three months of Israeli border closures have pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
Nearly half a million Palestinians are facing possible starvation, living in "catastrophic" levels of hunger, and 1 million others can barely get enough food, according to findings by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises.
Almost the entire population of around 2.3 million is acutely malnourished, and one in five Palestinians is on the brink of starvation, it said.
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