A senior UN official on Wednesday urged the Security Council to push for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages, warning that the war has become “a nightmare of historic proportions” and it is “long past time” for the fighting to end and for hostages to return home.

Aid groups warn of ‘mass starvation’ in Gaza amid blockade, while Israeli attacks kill dozens of others across enclave.

Pope Leo XIV renewed his call for a ceasefire on Thursday after an apparent Israeli strike hit Gaza's only Catholic church, leaving two dead and several others, including the parish priest, injured.

Hamas is insisting that the U.N. and Palestinian Red Crescent control all the aid running into Gaza, Arab mediators said.

A senior UN official on Wednesday urged the Security Council to push for an immediate ceasefire in the Israeli

Mediators fumed at Hamas on Wednesday over what they felt was its “unacceptable” response to the latest proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement, a source involved in the mediation effort told The Times of Israel.

In a statement signed by 111 organizations, including Mercy Corps and Refugees International, the groups warned that mass starvation was spreading.

I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” Pope Leo XIV declared, his words resonating through a world which has seen the suffering of Gaza in real time.