Madonna urges Pope Leo to visit Gaza to support children
In a post on social media, the American singer said the pontiff is 'the only one of us who cannot be denied entry' and should 'bring [his] light to the children before it's too late'.
She explained that her own children were the motivation for the post in her caption, writing: "Today is my son Rocco's birthday. I feel the best gift I can give to him as a mother is to ask everyone to do what they can to help save the innocent children caught in the crossfire in Gaza.
"I am not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides. Everyone is suffering. Including the mothers of the hostages. I pray that they are released as well."
Madonna, who was raised Catholic, said politics could not resolve the crisis and that she was turning to 'a Man of God' to help.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organisation, responded to the singer's comments, thanking her for 'compassion, solidarity and commitment to care for everyone caught in the Gaza crisis, especially the children'.
There has been no public response to the singer's request from the Vatican. However, last month, two senior Christian leaders entered Gaza to offer condolences after at least three people were killed in an Israeli strike on the only Catholic church in the enclave.
There is a small Christian community in Gaza. According to Christian charity Embrace the Middle East, "Before the outbreak of the current conflict, around 1,000 Christians lived in Gaza (0.05% of the population)." They add that in the West Bank, about 45,000 of the population of 2.7 million are Christian.
Pope Leo, who was elected in May, is the first American to lead the Catholic Church, and has spoken out about the conflict. In July, he called for an end to what he described as the 'barbarity of war' and urged respect for international humanitarian law. He said this included protecting civilians and avoiding collective punishment, indiscriminate force and forced displacement.
Conditions in Gaza have continued to deteriorate. At the end of July, the death toll from Israel's war in the territory crossed 60,000. About 150,000 people have been injured, according to the latest figures released by the Gaza Health Ministry.
"Death by bombardments. Death by malnutrition and starvation. Death by lack of aid and vital services," Unicef said on X. "In Gaza, an average of 28 children a day – the size of a classroom – have been killed."
The agency said more than 18,000 children have been killed in Gaza over the past 22 months.
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