VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV used his weekly general audience on Wednesday to make his strongest appeal yet for an end to the Israel-Hamas war, urging the global community to secure a permanent ceasefire, free all remaining hostages and allow the safe delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Without naming either party, the first U.S.-born pontiff said international law obliges the protection of civilians and forbids collective punishment, indiscriminate force and forced displacement. “I beg for a permanent ceasefire to be reached, the safe entry of humanitarian aid to be facilitated and humanitarian law to be fully respected,” he told thousands gathered in the Paul VI Hall, drawing sustained applause. The call comes as Israel prepares a new offensive in Gaza City while negotiations on a truce and hostage deal remain stalled. Hamas fighters seized 251 people during their 7 October 2023 raid that killed about 1,200 Israelis; roughly 50 captives are still believed to be held in the enclave. Israel’s subsequent military campaign has killed at least 62,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and U.N. agencies warn of worsening famine. Leo also endorsed a joint statement by the Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem who said clergy will remain with hundreds of displaced civilians sheltering in Gaza’s churches despite evacuation orders. Reiterating earlier pleas for prayer and fasting, the pope urged political leaders to prioritize “the common good of all peoples” and halt a conflict he said has caused “terror, destruction and death.”