World leaders send condolences after Pope's death
Pope Francis, who has died at the age of 88, will be remembered in the Middle East not only for his outreach across faiths, but also for his deeply personal and unwavering stance on the war in Gaza.
During the conflict’s darkest moments, the pontiff maintained near-daily contact with the besieged Christian community in Gaza, offering prayers, solidarity and urgent appeals for peace in what he described as an "immensely grave" humanitarian crisis.
Throughout Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians since October 2023, Pope Francis became one of the most consistent global voices calling for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted access to aid.
“He supported the rights of the Palestinian people,” said Philip Jahshan, a journalist from Gaza.
Ihab Ayad, a Christian from Gaza, described Pope Francis as "an exceptional global figure who never missed an opportunity to support the Palestinian cause and call for peace".
"During the war, the Pope spoke multiple times with the Church in Gaza. He offered us strength, support, and encouragement to remain steadfast. He urged us to hold on to our national and religious identity and always worked to reinforce our resilience."
As reports emerged of Christmas being marked by candlelight and shellfire in Gaza's churches, the Pope kept in close contact with the enclave's priests and nuns, offering them spiritual support and public recognition.
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Christian Palestinians attend mass for the late Pope Francis at the Holy Family Church in the Old City of Gaza. AP -
The special prayer followed the announcement by the Vatican that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88. Reuters -
Only 1,000 Christians live in overwhelmingly Muslim Gaza. AFP -
Pope Francis had maintained close and consistent video contact the territory's small Christian community throughout the war with Israel. AFP -
He would call Gaza's only Catholic church to see how people huddled there were coping. Reuters -
His last call was on Saturday when he "asked us to pray and gave us a blessing and thanked us for all the service for peace,” said the Rev Gabriele Romanielli. AFP -
In his final Mass, on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis once again called for a ceasefire in Gaza. AFP -
"Pope Francis was like a shield for the Christians in Gaza," a parishioner said. "He was the fighter who was fighting for our rights and for our protection." AFP
“There is no Santa Claus in Gaza this year – only bombs,” he said in December, referencing the haunting Christmas testimony of Palestinian Christians who celebrated Mass among rubble and ruins.
“They are not statistics. They are names, faces, stories,” he added, insisting that the suffering of Gaza’s civilians, especially its children, must not be forgotten or dismissed.
In his Easter address last year, Pope Francis issued a passionate call from the Vatican balcony: “Let us ask for peace for the Holy Land, wounded by conflict and division. May there be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.”
That plea was followed by repeated appeals to the international community to increase humanitarian aid and halt the Israeli siege that had pushed the enclave to the brink of famine.
The Pope also spoke starkly about the morality of modern warfare, condemning what he referred to as “war crimes” in Ukraine and Gaza. “We are witnessing attacks on civilians and total disregard for international humanitarian law,” he said in January last year, calling for global accountability.
Until his final months, he remained in contact with clergy inside Gaza, often receiving first-hand accounts of the conditions in the enclave.
In his Easter message this year, read out by an aide from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis expressed his “closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people”.
"I think of the people of Gaza and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation,” he said.
His solidarity with Christians in the Middle East, especially those in war-torn communities, was a hallmark of his papacy. But with Gaza, his concern was visibly urgent, and for many, deeply personal. “When the world forgot us, the Pope still called,” one Gazan Christian said.
