Madonna urges Pope to visit Gaza ‘before it’s too late’
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Madonna Urges The Pope To Visit Gaza ‘Before It’s Too Late’
Madonna urges the pope to travel to Gaza and “bring your light to the children before it’s too late” The superstar posted her appeal to the pontiff on social media Monday. “The children of the world belong to everyone. You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry,” she said. The pope recently renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 — we can’t do this without you.
LONDON (AP) — Madonna has urged the pope to travel to Gaza and “bring your light to the children before it’s too late.”
The superstar posted her appeal to the pontiff on social media Monday, saying her son Rocco’s birthday prompted her to make the post. Rocco turned 25 Monday.
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Addressing Pope Leo XIV, she wrote: “Most Holy Father. Please go to Gaza and 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,” she added. “We need the humanitarian gates to be fully opened to save these innocent children. There is no more time. Please say you will go. Love, Madonna.”
The singer added that she wasn’t taking sides in the war.
“I am not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides. Everyone is suffering. Including the mothers of the hostages,” she wrote. “I pray that they are released as well. I am merely trying to do what I can to keep these children from dying of starvation.”
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The pope recently renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asking the international community to respect humanitarian laws and the obligation to protect civilians.
“I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” the pontiff said last month.
Aid workers and doctors have said that after months of Israeli blockade and turmoil in the distribution of supplies, children in Gaza with no previous conditions are starting to die from malnutrition.
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Israel’s air and ground offensive, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel, has displaced most of the some 2 million Palestinians in Gaza and pushed the territory toward famine.
The United Nations said that across Gaza, more than 5,000 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in May, though that is likely an undercount. Malnutrition was virtually nonexistent before the war. Doctors struggle to treat the children because many supplies have run out, the U.N. says.
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Israel denies a famine is taking place or that children are starving. It says it has supplied enough food throughout the war and accuses Hamas of causing shortages by stealing aid and trying to control food distribution.
Madonna Asks Pope Leo XIV to Visit Gaza, Claims to Avoid Taking Sides
Pop icon Madonna posted on Instagram urging Pope Leo XIV to intervene in Gaza. Madonna’s plea ignores the complex reality of the conflict, including Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 50 hostages, 20 believed alive as of August 2025. Her call risks amplifying Hamas propaganda, often echoed by celebrities who overlook Israel’s repeated peace offers since 1948, all rejected by Palestinian leadership. Off course it also ignored the aid Israel continuously attempts to pour into Gaza to reach Gazan civilians, yet Hamas terrorists steal, control, and even sell the aid for their own profit. It underscores how celebrities’ one-sided narratives can fuel anti-Israel sentiment and obscure Hamas’s role in perpetuating violence.
Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope elected in May 2025 after Pope Francis’s death, has addressed Gaza’s plight, stating during a Rome Mass, “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.” Madonna’s plea, however, ignores the complex reality of the conflict, including Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 50 hostages, 20 believed alive as of August 2025. Her call risks amplifying Hamas propaganda, often echoed by celebrities who overlook Israel’s repeated peace offers since 1948, all rejected by Palestinian leadership. Off course it also ignored the aid Israel continuously attempts to pour into Gaza to reach Gazan civilians, yet Hamas terrorists steal, control, and even sell the aid for their own profit. Blaming Israel for the supposed starvation of the Gazan people is another propaganda tool used by Hamas to twist the truth. This is also seen in the videos showing well fed Hamas terrorists and the often fake photos used of Gazan children who are often suffering from various complex illnesses unrelated to starvation.
Madonna’s history with the conflict is contentious. In 2019, she defied boycott calls from figures like Roger Waters and Brian Eno to perform at Eurovision in Tel Aviv, where she staged a controversial act with dancers wearing Israeli and Palestinian flags embracing, ending with “wake up” on screen. She told Reuters, “I’ll never stop playing music to suit someone’s political agenda, nor will I stop speaking out against violations of human rights wherever in the world they may be,” adding, “My heart breaks every time I hear about the innocent lives that are lost in this region and the violence that is so often perpetuated to suit the political goals of people who benefit from this ancient conflict.” Her performance drew a “slightly muted response,” as BBC’s Graham Norton noted. This latest move, amid a surge in anti-Semitic incidents globally, including a recent attack on a Jewish couple in Venice, underscores how celebrities’ one-sided narratives can fuel anti-Israel sentiment and obscure Hamas’s role in perpetuating violence.
Madonna Urges Pope to Bring Light to Gaza Children Amid Escalating Crisis
The US queen of pop shared her plea on social media, saying the pontiff was ‘the only one of us who cannot be denied entry’ UK, EU, Australia, Canada and Japan issued a statement saying ‘famine is unfolding in front of our eyes’ and urged action to ‘reverse starvation’ Israel has continued to deny there is starvation in Gaza and has accused UN agencies of not picking up aid at the borders and delivering it. In July, the new Pope renewed his call for a Gaza ceasefire after three people sheltering in the Catholic church in Gaza City were killed in an Israeli strike. U2 frontman Bono along with the rest of his bandmates also released a statement letting fans know where they stand on the matter. Israel has faced mounting criticism over the 22-month-long war with Hamas, with UN-backed experts also warning of widespread famine unfolding in the besieged territory.
Her intervention came as the UK, EU, Australia, Canada and Japan issued a statement saying “famine is unfolding in front of our eyes” and urged action to “reverse starvation”.
“Most Holy Father, please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it’s too late,” Madonna posted on Instagram. “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.”
Israel has continued to deny there is starvation in Gaza and has accused UN agencies of not picking up aid at the borders and delivering it.
The Like a Prayer singer added: “We need the humanitarian gates to be fully opened to save these innocent children.”
She signed off by saying: “There is no more time. Please say you will go. Love, Madonna.”
In July, the new Pope renewed his call for a Gaza ceasefire after three people sheltering in the Catholic church in Gaza City were killed in an Israeli strike.
According to PA News, he said: “I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations.”
Madonna – who last month released her long-rumoured remix album Veronica Electronica – has made impassioned speeches on stage about Gaza since the war began.
This includes while performing at London’s O2 in 2023, when she told fans: “It breaks my heart to see children suffering, teenagers suffering, elderly people suffering – all of it is heartbreaking, I’m sure you agree.
“But even though our hearts are broken our spirits cannot be broken.”
She urged fans to bring “light and love” into the world – both individually and collectively, via words and actions – in order to “bring peace to the Middle East” and beyond.
In the caption of her latest online post, she noted how it was her son Rocco’s birthday and “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.”
The star, who also asked for donations to three different organisations, continued: “I am 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’s comments come as U2 frontman Bono along with the rest of his bandmates also released a statement letting fans know where they stand on the matter.
While condemning the actions of both Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas, the Irish frontman offered: “Our band stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine who truly seek a path to peace and coexistence with Israel and with their rightful and legitimate demand for statehood.
“We stand in solidarity with the remaining hostages and plead that someone rational negotiate their release.”
Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in its attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Israel’s response in Gaza has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, whose toll the UN considers reliable.
Israel has faced mounting criticism over the 22-month-long war with Hamas, with UN-backed experts also warning of widespread famine unfolding in the besieged territory.
On Tuesday the health ministry said five more people had died from malnutrition, bringing the total number of such deaths to 227 including 103 children.
Last week the UN’s humanitarian agency said the amount of aid entering Gaza continued to be “far below the minimum required”. It said it continued to see impediments and delays as it tries to collect aid from Israeli-controlled border zones.
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Madonna posts plea to Pope Leo urging him to go to Gaza ‘before it’s too late’
Madonna urges Pope Leo to “go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it’s too late” The post marked one of the first times that Madonna has commented on the ongoing war in Gaza since she joined a list of celebrities in a campaign called #NoHostageLeftBehind weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Pope Leo has consistently advocated for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel since he assumed the papacy in May.
Pop icon Madonna posted an urgent plea to Pope Leo Monday urging the Catholic leader to “go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it’s too late.”
The post marked one of the first times that Madonna has commented on the ongoing war in Gaza since she joined a list of celebrities in a campaign called #NoHostageLeftBehind weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
In two similar posts on Instagram and X, the superstar, who was raised Roman Catholic, said she was calling on the new pope to visit the besieged enclave because he is “the only one of us who cannot be denied entry.”
“We need the humanitarian gates to be opened fully to save these innocent children. There is no more time. Please say you will go,” she continued.
In the caption of the posts, which were published on her son Rocco’s birthday, Madonna said that she felt that “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,” adding that she was not “pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides.”
In the caption of the Instagram post, Madonna added that: “Everyone is suffering. Including the mothers of the hostages. I pray that they are released as well.”
She also urged her followers to donate to the World Central Kitchen, a disaster relief organization; Women Wage Peace, an Israeli organization; and Women of the Sun, a Palestinian group that advocates for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Pope Leo has consistently advocated for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel since he assumed the papacy in May. In his first Sunday address after assuming the role, he called for a ceasefire, increased humanitarian aid in Gaza and the freeing of the hostages, adding that he was “deeply pained by what is happening in the Gaza strip.” His predecessor, Pope Francis, frequently drew backlash for his pro-Palestinian advocacy, including in November 2024 when he called for an investigation into claims of genocide allegedly perpetrated by Israel in Gaza.