The Pope: Flotilla? "The people of Gaza suffer, they must be helped"

"Let the rights of all be respected". Leaving Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo to return to the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV - questioned by journalists - intervened on the violence suffered by the Flotilla activists: "A new appeal must be made for respect for the human rights of all," he said. "Unfortunately, the people of Gaza," he added, "are still not receiving humanitarian aid and this is causing protests, difficulties and also the action of those who took part in the Flotilla, I would like to renew the appeal to all the authorities to assist and accompany, help the people of Gaza who are suffering so much".

Papa Leone XIV parla con i giornalisti mentre la folla si raduna fuori dalla residenza papale, prima di tornare in Vaticano, a Castel Gandolfo, Italia, il 26 maggio 2026. REUTERS/Vincenzo Livieri

The Pontiff then returned to talk about artificial intelligence, a theme at the centre of his first encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas": "Today we have already continued the work, there has been a kind of work together with the Dicastery for Integral Human Development and with some who work in Anthropic," he recounted. The Bishop of Rome's invitation is "to continue the dialogue, to really look for a disarmed Artificial Intelligence", because "war is being waged today with AI" and "we have seen other cases today, in Lebanon, without thinking about human lives".

The Holy Father's words come immediately after an appeal posted on the Instagram profile of Maghreb Sumud, which provides continuous updates on the situation of the Global Sumud Flotilla volunteers. A video shows the faces and voices of the 10 activists of the Flotilla's overland convoy still detained: among them are the two Italians - Domenico Centrione and Leonarda Alberizia - detained in Sirte by Libyan militiamen affiliated with General Khalifa Haftar on Sunday while trying to negotiate an advance on the convoy. From there they were transferred to Benghazi, awaiting trial while they were considered "potential illegal immigrants".

"From every corner of the world, and in many languages, they arrived with one heart and one goal: to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid", writes Maghreb Sumud, recalling that "today, they are detained, and we are still waiting for their release and reassurances on their safety". The delegation of 10 activists (in addition to the two Italians, there are nationals from Spain, Poland, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay and Tunisia), had attempted to negotiate in Sirte the passage of the convoy of humanitarian aid bound for Gaza. In addition to the two detained Italians, there are another seven compatriots in Libya who were evacuated from their camp in Sirte and taken to Misurata to be repatriated; Global Sumud Flotilla sources report that they will leave Tripoli via Istanbul, arriving at Fiumicino airport tomorrow at 9.30am. Informed sources report that the consul general in Benghazi is waiting for news so that he can pay a consular visit to the two arrested Italian militants.