Pop icon Madonna has called on Pope Leo XIV to take direct action to protect children in Gaza, urging him to "go and open the humanitarian gates" to the besieged enclave.

In an Instagram post on Monday, Madonna wrote: “Please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it’s too late.” She said that as a mother, she could not bear to witness the suffering of children under Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Madonna stressed that the pope is uniquely positioned to gain access to the Strip, writing: “We need the humanitarian gates to be fully opened to save these innocent children.”

 

 

 

 

 

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The singer emphasized that her plea was not about taking sides in the war. “I am merely trying to do what I can to keep these children from dying of starvation. There is no more time. Please say you will go,” she added. 

Before the Palestinian resistance's October 7 operation in 2023, Madonna made multiple trips to "Israel," including performing at Eurovision in 2019 held in "Tel Aviv" as well as performing numerous times prior.  

Pope Leo XIV’s stance on Gaza genocide

On a related note, Pope Leo XIV condemned the “barbarity of war” last month, after an Israeli strike hit Gaza’s only Catholic church. He urged the international community to uphold humanitarian law, protect civilians, and reject collective punishment, indiscriminate attacks, and forced displacement.

In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the church strike, the pope reiterated his appeal for a ceasefire and voiced concern over the "dramatic" humanitarian situation in the Strip.

The Vatican reported that Pope Leo XIV stressed the urgent need to protect places of worship, the faithful, and all people in the Palestinian territories and "Israel".

In May of this year, Pope Leo XIV urged the Israeli government to allow for substantial humanitarian access into the Gaza Strip.