Pope Leo held a telephone conversation with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, focusing on the escalation of the conflict in Gaza and the violence in the West Bank, the Vatican announced.

This marks the first official conversation between the two leaders since Leo assumed the papal office.

“The Holy Father reiterated his call for full compliance with international humanitarian law, emphasizing in particular the obligation to protect civilians and sacred sites, the prohibition of indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,” the Vatican’s official statement said.

The Pope also highlighted “the urgent need to provide assistance to those most vulnerable to the consequences of the conflict and to ensure adequate access for humanitarian aid.”

The conversation took place a day after the Pope spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following an Israeli airstrike on the only Catholic church in Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of three people.

Pope Leo condemned the “barbarity” of the war in Gaza and once again called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

The Holy See, which supports the two-state solution, officially recognized the State of Palestine through an agreement signed in 2015, becoming one of the first entities in Europe to do so.

In 2014, the Presidents of Israel and Palestine, Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, planted an olive tree together with Pope Francis in the gardens of the Vatican. |BGNES