“I express my deepest sympathy to the Palestinian people in Gaza, who continue to live in fear and survive in unacceptable conditions, forced—once again—from their lands,” Pope Leo XIV said at his General Audience on Wednesday morning, September 17.

Israeli forces launched a massive new military offensive against Gaza’s largest population centre, Gaza City, on Tuesday, ordering civilians to flee the city amid the most intense bombardment they have faced in almost two years of war. Hamas has said 350,000 people have fled the eastern part of the city for displacement centres in other parts of Gaza City, while another 175,000 have fled the city altogether.

Invoking “the Almighty Lord, who commanded ‘Thou shalt not kill,’” and “in the presence of all humanity,” Pope Leo on Wednesday declared, “Every person always has an inviolable dignity, to be respected and protected.”

The Holy Father went on to renew his appeal for “a ceasefire, for the release of the hostages, for a negotiated diplomatic solution, and for full respect for international humanitarian law.”

Finally, Pope Leo invited “everyone” to join in his “heartfelt prayer that a dawn of peace and justice may soon rise.