The pope, arriving in Lebanon, also encouraged that country’s Christians to stay where they are, despite economic, political and security concerns.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the contentious appeal weeks after President Trump had made the same request to the Israeli president.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Leo XIV on the opening leg of a trip that will also include Lebanon.
Despite a cease-fire with Hezbollah, almost daily strikes demonstrate an emboldened Israel’s strategy to eliminate its enemies any time, anywhere.
Israel confirmed the remains belonged to Dror Or, 48, who was abducted during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks. The bodies of two captives are believed to be still in Gaza.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had succeeded in delivering million of meals in the war-torn enclave, but some Palestinians were killed trying to obtain them.
The government acted quickly to tamp down reprisals in the central city of Homs as it tries to manage repeated waves of bloodshed involving minority groups.
Escalating its attacks on the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, Israel killed Hezbollah’s military chief of staff in an airstrike on an apartment building.
Iran’s foreign minister said his country would halt plans for a reinstatement of nuclear inspections at a time of heightened concern over Iran’s enriched uranium.
Israel’s military said it had launched attacks across Gaza after Palestinian militants shot at its troops. The six-week-old cease-fire has been pierced periodically by bursts of violence.