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Pope Laments Death of Children in Iran War, Pledges Closeness to Lebanon

Civilians gather in the courtyard of a school where they take shelter, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Civilians gather in the courtyard of a school where they take shelter, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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Pope Laments Death of Children in Iran War, Pledges Closeness to Lebanon

Civilians gather in the courtyard of a school where they take shelter, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Civilians gather in the courtyard of a school where they take shelter, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)

Pope Leo on Wednesday lamented the death of numerous civilians in the Iran war and also expressed closeness to people in Lebanon, saying the country, targeted by Israeli strikes, was going through a "great trial."

Leo, who has appealed several times for an end to the expanding conflict and warned that ‌the violence ‌could spiral out of control, called on ‌pilgrims ⁠in his weekly ⁠audience in St. Peter's Square to pray for peace.

"Let us continue to pray for peace in Iran, and throughout the Middle East, especially for the many civilian victims, including many innocent children," said the pontiff, as the war continued into ⁠its 12th day.

He made no mention ‌of any specific incident ‌involving children.

A girls' school in Minab, in southern Iran, ‌was hit on February 28 during the first ‌day of US and Israeli attacks on the country. Iran's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said the strike killed 150 students. Reuters could not independently ‌confirm the death toll.

The US military is investigating the incident.

Leo also lamented ⁠the ⁠death of a priest who was killed on Monday in strikes on southern Lebanon, where Israel is attacking the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, which has fired into Israel from Lebanon in solidarity with the government in Iran.

The pope said Rev. Pierre El Rahi was a "true shepherd" who was killed while trying to offer aid to parishioners who had been injured in a strike.

Leo visited Lebanon in December as part of his first overseas trip as pope.

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Arab World

Palestinian Presidency Condemns Continued Israeli Closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque

20 February 2026, Palestinian Territories, Jerusalem: Palestinians perform the Taraweeh prayers in the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the third day of Ramadan. Photo: Department Of Islamic Awqaf In J/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
20 February 2026, Palestinian Territories, Jerusalem: Palestinians perform the Taraweeh prayers in the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the third day of Ramadan. Photo: Department Of Islamic Awqaf In J/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Palestinian Presidency Condemns Continued Israeli Closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque

20 February 2026, Palestinian Territories, Jerusalem: Palestinians perform the Taraweeh prayers in the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the third day of Ramadan. Photo: Department Of Islamic Awqaf In J/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
20 February 2026, Palestinian Territories, Jerusalem: Palestinians perform the Taraweeh prayers in the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the third day of Ramadan. Photo: Department Of Islamic Awqaf In J/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The Palestinian Presidency condemned the continued Israeli closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem, which has prevented worshippers from performing their religious rites during the holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement, the presidency said the measures constitute a serious violation of the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque and other religious sites, SPA reported.

The Palestinian presidency also warned against attempts by the Israeli occupation to exploit the current atmosphere of regional tension and escalation to target religious sites in Jerusalem, reaffirming that Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its entire area of 144 dunams, is an Islamic place of worship exclusively for Muslims.

The statement further stressed the importance of preserving the existing historical and legal status quo at the Al-Haram Al-Sharif.

Arab World

UN Warns Global Aid at Risk as Middle East War Spreads

A Sudanese refugee girl from al-Fashir rests next to a burnt tree in the middle of the Tine transit camp, amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, in eastern Chad, November 23, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
A Sudanese refugee girl from al-Fashir rests next to a burnt tree in the middle of the Tine transit camp, amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, in eastern Chad, November 23, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
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UN Warns Global Aid at Risk as Middle East War Spreads

A Sudanese refugee girl from al-Fashir rests next to a burnt tree in the middle of the Tine transit camp, amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, in eastern Chad, November 23, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
A Sudanese refugee girl from al-Fashir rests next to a burnt tree in the middle of the Tine transit camp, amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, in eastern Chad, November 23, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

The United Nations aid chief warned on Wednesday that the conflict in the Middle East is straining humanitarian operations worldwide, disrupting supply chains and slowing the delivery of life-saving assistance to numerous crisis zones.

“We are in a moment of grave peril for the Middle East and, actually I believe, for the wider world,” Tom Fletcher, the UN aid chief, told Reuters.

The US-Israeli war with Iran, which has expanded to Lebanon and dragged in Gulf countries, has convulsed global markets and disrupted supply chains, with airspace closures and the halt of shipping through the critical Strait of Hormuz.

Fletcher said aid supplies to Gaza and sub-Saharan Africa are being affected by the conflict, as humanitarian relief that needs to travel through the Strait of Hormuz or through airspace in the Gulf has been largely blocked or constrained.

Conflict-ridden Somalia, which is facing a major drought, and Sudan are among a number of countries facing dire humanitarian crises.

"These (constraints) will damage our humanitarian supply chains, reduce the humanitarian supplies we can get to people who need them, but they'll also drive up energy costs and food costs across the region," Fletcher said.

"This really is a perfect storm of factors right now, and I'm seriously worried," he stated.

There is particular concern for aid supplies to sub-Saharan Africa, Flether said, which are being impacted by restricted movement through the Strait of Hormuz, with alternative routes slapped with rising freight costs.

Higher oil prices are making the UN's aid deliveries by air more expensive, at a time when UN agencies and NGOs budgets are already facing major donor cuts, Fletcher explained.

"We've just about put some money together to keep more of our UN humanitarian flights in the air, but they've suddenly, almost overnight, become much more expensive," Fletcher said.

Arab World

States Backing UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Voice 'Deep Alarm' at Hostilities

Members of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force enter a bus at the site of an Israeli strike at the northern entrance of the southern city of Sidon, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYAT / AFP)
Members of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force enter a bus at the site of an Israeli strike at the northern entrance of the southern city of Sidon, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYAT / AFP)
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States Backing UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Voice 'Deep Alarm' at Hostilities

Members of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force enter a bus at the site of an Israeli strike at the northern entrance of the southern city of Sidon, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYAT / AFP)
Members of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force enter a bus at the site of an Israeli strike at the northern entrance of the southern city of Sidon, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYAT / AFP)

Around 30 countries, including those with United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon, voiced concern Wednesday over renewed fighting after Israel launched strikes in retaliation for attacks by Hezbollah.

"We troop contributing countries to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, joined by several other member states, express our deep alarm at the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon," Jerome Bonnafont, the French ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters in New York, Reuters reported.

"Faced with war, Lebanon must be supported. Its sovereignty and territorial integrity must be preserved. We express our full solidarity with Lebanon and the Lebanese people," he added in the joint statement.

Bonnafont said the countries he represented, including France, Britain, Germany, India and Korea, "condemn in the strongest terms" Hezbollah's attacks.

He spoke as the Security Council was to meet at the UN headquarters to discuss the uptick in fighting in Lebanon, which has left 570 people dead, according to the country's health ministry.

Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon said Wednesday that Israeli forces will continue to operate in Lebanon "as long (as) there will be a threat against us."

"Israel does not want to be operating, but Israel will not accept rockets fired at our people, and we will do whatever is necessary to stop them," Danon told reporters.