Humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens

Humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsensABC News’ Marcus Moore has the reaction to Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, a new escalation in the war in Gaza that’s now almost two years long.

The musical artist Madonna has called on Pope Leo to travel to Gaza amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis, asking him to “bring your light to the children before it’s too late.”

“As a mother, I cannot bear to watch their suffering. The children of the world belong to everyone. You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry,” Madonna wrote in an Instagram post on Monday.

“Politics Cannot affect Change. Only consciousness Can. Therefore I am Reaching out to a Man of God,” Madonna wrote in the caption of her post.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost arrives on the main central loggia balcony of the St Peter’s Basilica for the first time, after the cardinals ended the conclave, in The Vatican, on May 8, 2025. Robert Francis Prevost was on Thursday elected the first pope from the United States, the Vatican announced. A moderate who was close to Pope Fr…Show more
Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images

For months, humanitarian aid organizations and international bodies have warned that Gaza is facing “critical” levels of hunger and that famine is “imminent” in parts of the Gaza Strip.

A report in late July from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global initiative monitoring hunger, said that “the worst-case scenario of famine is playing out in the Gaza Strip,” and that “access to food and other essential items and services has plummeted to unprecedented levels.”

The Vatican has yet to comment on Madonna’s post.

Pope Leo XIV, who began his papacy in May, is the first American-born pope and the 267th pope of the Catholic Church.

Palestinians struggle to get food and humanitarian aid from the back of a truck as it moves along the Morag corridor near Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Aug. 4, 2025.
Mariam Dagga/AP

He has been outspoken about the ongoing hunger crisis in Gaza. Last week, during a Mass for the Jubilee of Young People in Rome, Pope Leo expressed solidarity for the children who are suffering as a result of Israel’s war with Hamas.

“In communion with Christ, our peace and hope for the world, we are closer than ever to young people who suffer the most serious evils which are caused by other human beings. We are with the young people of Gaza,” he said.

The previous leader of the Catholic Church, late Pope Francis, maintained daily contact with Gaza City’s Holy Family Church before his death, the parish priest of the region’s only Catholic church told ABC News after his death in April.

US singer songwriter Madonna arrives for the 2025 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2025, in New York. The Gala raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The 2025 Met Gala is themed “Tailored for You,” aligning with the Costume Institute’s exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” set to open to the…
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

In the caption of her Instagram post, Madonna said she was calling on the pope to visit Gaza on her son Rocco’s birthday.

“I feel the best gift I can give to him as a Mother – is to ask everyone to do what they can to help save the innocent children caught in the crossfire in Gaza,” she wrote.

The “Material Girl” singer also called for the release of the Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023.

She said that she is “not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides.”

“Everyone is suffering. Including the mothers of the hostages. I pray that they are released as well,” Madonna wrote.