Pope Leo XIV called Wednesday for sufficient humanitarian aid to be allowed into war-ravaged Gaza, where humanitarian agencies say a total blockade has sparked critical food and medicine shortages. Israel has, under massive pressure from the U.S. and other allies, started to allow more aid into Gaza this week, but it has not eased its military operations, and aid agencies say the amount of humanitarian goods entering the strip is nowhere near enough to meet the urgent needs of a battered civilian population.
The United Nations announced Monday that it had been cleared to send in aid for the first time since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2, sparking severe shortages of food and medicine.
