Pope Francis, who is in daily contact with Gazans, has consistently called for an end to the Israeli assault and for Palestinians and Israelis to be able to live in peace.

With a boldness and specificity that has often sparked controversy, this pope has challenged economic injustice, racism, environmental neglect, militarism, and the abuses of new technologies that increase inequality. He has faced his share of criticism, not just from conservatives who disapprove of his views but also from reformers who sincerely wish that he would do more to modernize the church. Yet, in a time of too much indifference and impunity, this pope has remained uniquely engaged with the embattled regions that political and media elites neglect or abandon.

That’s been especially true when it comes to Gaza, where Pope Francis has long argued for ceasefires, arms blockades, aid convoys, and a diplomatic urgency that recognizes that Palestinians and Israelis are “fraternal peoples [who] have the right to live in peace.”

The pontiff has been consistently outspoken in decrying Israel’s ongoing military assault on Palestinian civilians, tens of thousands of whom have been killed since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Responding last December to reports of the bombings of hospitals and schools, the mounting death toll, and the suffering in particular of Palestinian children, Pope Francis bluntly declared, “This is cruelty, this is not war.” Earlier in 2024, he wrote, “According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide. It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”

A Pope Who Prays for Palestine by John Nichols, The Nation, April 20, 2025

Before a five-week hospital stay for pneumonia, which nearly killed him, Francis had been ramping up criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave “very serious and shameful” in January.

In the Easter message, the pontiff said the situation in Gaza was “dramatic and deplorable”. The pope also called on Palestinian militant group Hamas to release its remaining hostages and condemned what he said was a “worrisome” trend of antisemitism in the world.

“I express my closeness to the sufferings … of all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people,” said the message.

“I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace,” it said.

Pope Francis makes brief Easter appearance, calls for Gaza ceasefire, Cyprus Mail, April 20, 2025

Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, and Yuval Abraham’s No Other Land, nominated for Best Documentary in Sunday’s Academy Awards, is one of the most politically pressing films of our time — a robust document of occupation and destruction and a testimony to friendship, solidarity, and resistance. Produced by a Palestinian-Israeli film collective, No Other Land documents the devastation of several villages in Masafer Yatta by Israeli forces prior to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Over the years, Adra, a young Palestinian activist and journalist, has been documenting Israeli efforts to evict these villagers. After a demolition in the summer of 2019, he met Israeli journalist Abraham, and their friendship grew. The two of them, along with Palestinian photographer Hamdan Ballal and Israeli cinematographer Rachel Szor, together began to film thousands of Palestinian families as the Israeli government razed village after village to convert the entire area into a military training ground.

The Oscar-Nominated Documentary US Distributors Won’t Touch By Agnitra Ghosh, Jacobin, Feb 28, 2025