Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday denounced what he called the “unacceptable” conditions facing Palestinians in Gaza, voicing “profound closeness” to the population of Gaza City and renewing his call for a ceasefire. Speaking from St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff said the Palestinians “continue to live in fear and survive in unacceptable conditions, forced once again to leave their land.”
Looking out at the crowd, Pope Leo declared: “Before God Almighty, who commanded ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ and in the sight of all of human history, every person always has an inviolable dignity, to be respected and upheld.” He stressed that “international humanitarian law” must be observed and again appealed “for a truce, for the freeing of hostages held in Gaza, and for a negotiated diplomatic solution to the conflict.”
Noticeably absent from the Pope’s remarks, however, was any mention of Hamas — the terror group that launched the war with mass atrocities against Israel, continues to fire rockets, and still holds over 100 Israeli hostages. Nor did Pope Leo acknowledge Israel’s right of self-defense.
In an interview published this week, Leo admitted that “the word genocide is being thrown around more and more,” and stated: “The Holy See does not believe that we can make any declaration at this time about that.” By declining to reject the genocide charge outright, the Pope leaves open space for a false and inflammatory narrative long promoted by Israel’s enemies.
Even the biblical reference the Pope invoked is more nuanced than he suggested. The original Hebrew commandment is “Lo tirtzach” — “You shall not murder.” The Torah does not prohibit all killing. On the contrary, it explicitly commands Israel to go to war when facing existential threats. Israel’s current campaign in Gaza is not murder but a defensive war against Hamas, an organization that murdered over a thousand Israelis and vows to do so again.
This is not the first time the Vatican has leaned toward rhetoric that many Israelis find deeply troubling. In November 2024, Pope Francis said, “According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide. We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.” That statement drew sharp backlash from Israel, which adamantly rejects the accusation. At the time, Francis called for the genocide charge to be investigated rather than dismissed as propaganda, a stance critics said effectively sided with Hamas by delegitimizing Israel’s defensive war.
By contrast, Pope Leo XIV’s wording was more cautious — saying, “The Holy See does not believe we can make any declaration at this time” — but he still did not take the opportunity to defend Israel against slanderous accusations.
The pontiff did personally check in on Gaza’s small Catholic community, calling Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Gaza, who told him that the Holy Family parish compound is currently sheltering 450 people. “Many have nowhere to go, and so it is a concern,” the Pope said, adding: “For now they want to stay; they are still holding on, but we really need to look for another solution.”
International law protects the rights of people to flee areas of combat as refugees. That right has been denied to residents of Gaza. While the Israeli government ethnically cleansed Gaza of all Jews in 2005, no Palestinians have been forcibly removed. President Trump’s proposed plan to rebuild Gaza called for permitting Gazans who wished to relocate to do so, Polling has shown that more than 40% of the residents of Gaza would emigrate if given the opportunity.
While Pope Leo XIV’s call for the release of hostages is welcome, his silence on Hamas’s culpability — and his unwillingness to reject the charge of genocide — risks emboldening Israel’s detractors at a time when the Jewish state is waging a necessary and defensive war for its survival.
What the Pope did not say is perhaps more important than what he did: Israel is fighting a biblical and moral battle not against civilians but against murderers. As Scripture makes clear, the prohibition is against murder, not against defending life. By ignoring Hamas’s crimes while lamenting Israel’s response, Pope Leo XIV effectively equates a democratic state protecting its citizens with a terrorist organization bent on their destruction. Israel, by contrast, is standing in the tradition of the Bible itself — confronting evil, protecting its people, and fulfilling the command to preserve life in the face of terror.