Netanyahu-Leon XIV phone call: "Agreement on hostages closer". Parolin: "Positive dialogue for all".

"I believe that the telephone call from the Israeli prime minister to Pope Leo XIV was opportune. The prime minister wanted to inform the Pope directly of what happened, which is of absolute gravity". This was said by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, interviewed by the Tg2 Post. "Therefore," the cardinal stressed, "I find the phone call positive, because it expresses the will of the Israeli prime minister to speak directly with Pope Leo, even in a situation that is desperate. Now there are two things to expect from this phone call in my opinion: first of all that the results of the enquiry that was promised should really be known, because the first interpretation that was given was that of a mistake. They were assured that there would be an investigation into this matter, and they should really carry out this investigation in all seriousness and let us know the results. And then after so many words, let there be room for deeds, I really hope that what the prime minister said can be realised as soon as possible because the situation in Gaza is unsustainable," Cardinal Parolin added.

"In the morning, Leo XIV received, at the Castel Gandolfo residence, a telephone call from Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, following yesterday's military attack by the Israeli army on the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza". Thus a note from the Vatican press office. The Pope, in the phone call, "renewed his appeal for the momentum of negotiations to be restored and for a ceasefire and an end to the war to be reached. He again expressed concern for the dramatic humanitarian situation of the population in Gaza, whose heartbreaking price is being paid especially by children, the elderly, the sick".

Netanyahu, during his conversation with Leo XIV, said that he is working for the rapid release of the hostages and that "negotiations are proceeding. We are close to an agreement," the premier said while inviting the pontiff to visit Israel, according to Ynet reports. Netanyahu's office had previously spoken of a "good-natured and friendly" conversation that lasted over an hour.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote on X: "I am in contact with Cardinal Pizzaballa who, together with Patriarch Theophilus III, intends to enter Gaza with a cargo of 500 tons of aid for the civilian population. The Italian government calls on Israel to cease military actions and to fully guarantee the safety of the two envoys on their important mission. Israel and Hamas must reach a ceasefire, the war in Gaza must end, we must definitively choose the path of diplomatic negotiation to stop the attacks involving the civilian population, to free all the Israeli hostages, to get the necessary aid in as soon as possible'.

Pope calls Pizzaballa: no more massacres in Gaza