![Pope Leo XIV celebrates the Mass for the inauguration of his pontificate in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on May 18, 2025. [Riccardo De Luca - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AA-20250518-37996700-37996694-POPE_LEO_XIVS_INAUGURATION_MASS_AT_THE_VATICAN-1.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
“Children, families, and the elderly in Gaza were reduced to starvation,” noted Pope Leo XIV on Sunday in his inauguration mass in Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square, Anadolu reports.
Thanking some 200,000 people and numerous delegations representing states, royal families, and other Christian churches, the pontiff added: “In the joy of faith and communion, we cannot forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war,” according to the Vatican News Agency.
Particularly on Ukraine, Leo underlined the importance of the negotiations to bring a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
Following the mass, the pontiff met privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the agency.
The Israeli army has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 53,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
READ: At least 153 Palestinians killed as Israel intensifies air strikes across Gaza
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