Pope Leo Condemns Netanyahu’s Gaza Campaign: “No Future in Violence and Vengeance”
Leo continues Francis’s calls to Gaza parish, but warns that statehood alone won’t break the deadlock.
Speaking to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV delivered a stinging moral indictment of the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
“Together with the pastors of the churches in the Holy Land, I repeat that there is no future based on violence, forced exile, and revenge,” he declared after the Angelus prayer.
The pope’s words — “People need peace. Those who truly love them work for peace” — were a direct rejoinder to the cycle of attacks and reprisals gripping the region.
Leo’s plea came as Israeli forces intensified their offensive in Gaza City, an onslaught that has killed over 65,000 Palestinians in two years and displaced the vast majority of the enclave’s population.
By explicitly denouncing “forced exile” amid mass evacuations of Gazans, the pope unmistakably aimed his message at the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Reaching Out to Gaza and Pressing for Peace
Today, Pope Leo reinforced his condemnation with concrete acts of solidarity and diplomacy.
He revealed that he personally telephoned Holy Family Parish — Gaza’s lone Catholic church — to assure its besieged community of the Church’s closeness.
In doing so, Leo continued the tender tradition of Pope Francis, who spent the final 18 months of his life calling that same Gaza parish nightly as a lifeline of hope.
In tandem, Leo has been unafraid to push Israeli leadership.
Just days ago, he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a tense meeting and pressed him directly for an immediate ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, the release of hostages, and a revived path to two states.
The Vatican’s appeals reflect its longstanding support for a two-state solution as the only viable and equitable path toward a just and lasting peace.
Indeed, this weekend saw U.S. allies like Britain, Canada, and Australia formally recognize a State of Palestine to “revive hope of peace” — a move Pope Leo welcomed as a step in the right direction.
But Netanyahu’s reaction was defiant: he flatly declared a Palestinian state “will not happen” on his watch.
Netanyahu has had a rocky relationship with both Pope Leo and his predecessor. Leo was especially angry after Netanyahu struck the Holy Family Parish in a July missile attack.
Leo cautioned that while global support for Palestinian statehood is a start, it isn’t enough to break the current deadlock in dialogue so long as those with power reject compromise.
“Opening Doors” but Not the Protagonist of Peace
In a new interview with Crux correspondent Elise Ann Allen, Pope Leo reflected on the limits of his role amid such intractable conflicts.
He stressed that the pope cannot single-handedly solve the world’s problems.
His mission, Leo suggested, is to raise moral clarity and offer platforms for dialogue.
“The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face-to-face, to talk to one another,” he told Allen.
Ultimate peace “must be up to the parties involved,” he emphasized, urging Israeli and Palestinian leaders to muster the will for negotiation.
In other words, he can open doors and plead for justice, but Israelis and Palestinians themselves must choose to walk the hard road toward reconciliation.
Pope Leo’s voice, resolute yet humble, has now risen as a moral counterweight to the ethos of vengeance.
His Sunday pronouncement that “there is no future based on violence… and revenge” rings out as both a condemnation of Netanyahu’s current course and a clarion call to all sides: the only future worth building is one founded on dialogue, mercy, and peace.
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Before 1948 Palestinians and Jewish people lived side by side without any problems. Then Great Britain decided to move Jews to Palestinian land. Palestinian land, houses, fig and olive groves were destroyed by Israel, and houses were taken over by Jews. Palestinians were forced to leave their houses. It’s called the Nakba by Palestinians.
Netanyahu doesn’t want peace. And neither does the majority of Israeli citizens. Their aim is a greater Israel. So I wonder how a group of people can operate under those circumstances… and I think that is the reason that it is how it is. Palestinians have stepped towards peace many times… but that doesn’t work for the Israeli narrative. So they demonize them and make them out to be terrorists. And that is the reason it is how it is.