Former Israeli PM and Pope call for end to Gaza war

At Israel’s largest anti-war gathering since 2023, Ehud Olmert terms Gaza a Palestinian territory and calls for an Israeli withdrawal

THE WORLDVIEW

May 12, 2025

FORMER Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declared that the Gaza Strip is a Palestinian, not Israeli territory, and has called for an end to Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the enclave, as well as a full withdrawal. His remarks were reported by The Jerusalem Post.

“[Gaza] must be part of the Palestinian state,” said Olmert during the two-day People’s Peace Summit held on Thursday. “There should be a new administration linked to the Palestinian Authority, with executive powers, that will be able to rebuild Gaza,” he added.

The summit was organised by It’s Time, a coalition comprising more than 60 Jewish and Arab civil society and peacebuilding organisations, with partial support from the New Israel Fund. According to The Jerusalem Post, it marked the largest civilian anti-war event in Israel since October 2023.

Israel fully sealed off the Gaza Strip on 2 March, prohibiting the entry of essential supplies including food, water, and medical aid, in contravention of international humanitarian law.

On 19 March, the Israeli military resumed its offensive on the enclave, breaking a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that had held since January. Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 53,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of whom were women and children.

Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV used his first Sunday address from St Peter’s Square to appeal to the world’s leading powers for an end to armed conflict, stating simply: “No more war,” Reuters reported.

The pontiff, elected on 8 May, called for a durable and genuine peace in Ukraine, an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of all Israeli hostages held in the enclave. Speaking in fluent Italian, he also welcomed a newly brokered ceasefire between India and Pakistan, saying he was praying for “the miracle of peace”.

Echoing the words of his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo cited the recent 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which resulted in the deaths of some 60 million people.