Madonna urges Pope Leo to visit Gaza: 'Bring your light to the children before it's too late'

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.

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.

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.

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.