Pope urges 'courage' in next steps of Gaza peace deal

Pope Leo XIV called Sunday for "courage" from those forging a peace plan for Gaza, as world leaders prepared to attend a summit on ending the conflict.

"The agreement to begin the peace process has given a spark of hope in the Holy Land," the US-born pontiff said at the end of Sunday's Angelus prayer.

"I encourage the parties involved to courageously continue on the path towards a just and lasting peace that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples", he said.

US President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will on Monday chair a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh which aims to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

International leaders will discuss implementing the first phase of a ceasefire, two years after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack triggered a counter-offensive by Israel that killed more than 67,000 Palestinians.

"Two years of conflict have left death and destruction everywhere, especially in the hearts of those who have brutally lost their children, their parents, their friends, everything", Pope Leo said.

He asked God to help "accomplish what now seems humanly impossible: to rediscover that the other is not an enemy, but a brother to look to, forgive, and offer the hope of reconciliation."

The pope also spoke of his "sorrow" following the news of "new, violent attacks that have hit several cities and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, causing the deaths of innocent people, including children".

"My heart goes out to the suffering population, who have lived in anguish and deprivation for years," he said, calling once again for "an end to the violence".

Kyiv says diplomatic efforts to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine have slowed in recent months, in part because global attention has shifted to the war in Gaza.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Trump to broker peace in Ukraine like in "the Middle East", saying if the US president could stop one war, "others can be stopped as well".