Pope Leo and President Isaac Herzog have agreed to meet at the Vatican on Thursday, with the two set to discuss the war in Gaza and efforts to secure the release of hostages held in the enclave.
However, after the meeting was announced, there was disagreement between the parties over whose idea the meeting was.
The Herzog’s office issued a statement early on Tuesday saying he would meet Leo on Thursday at the pope’s invitation.
In an unusual statement, the Vatican said on Tuesday evening: “It is the Holy See’s practice to accede to requests for an audience with the pope made by Heads of State and Government; it is not its practice to extend invitations to them.”
Following the Holy See’s statement, a source in the President’s Residence said Herzog had been scheduled to meet the pope Francis on a visit to Italy when the late pontiff became ill and later died.
After Pope Leo’s inauguration, the new meeting was arranged in full coordination with the Vatican through diplomatic channels, the source said.
Herzog’s office said in its statement that he and the pope would discuss efforts to secure the return of hostages held in Gaza, the fight against global antisemitism, and the safeguarding of Christian communities in the Middle East.
Leo has recently stepped up his calls for an end to the war in Gaza. The first pope from the United States, Leo last week issued a “strong appeal” for an end to the nearly two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“I once again issue a strong appeal… so that an end may be put to the conflict in the Holy Land, which has caused so much terror, destruction, and death,” he said in his weekly audience at the Vatican.
“I implore that all hostages be freed, that a permanent ceasefire be reached, that the safe entry of humanitarian aid be facilitated, and that international humanitarian law be fully respected,” Leo added.
The Vatican, which strives to be seen as a neutral arbiter in world affairs, does not typically comment in advance on the pope’s meetings with world leaders.
Its usual practice is to only issue brief statements after meetings with the pope have taken place.
Leo has two announced meetings with world leaders this week: with Herzog on Thursday and with Polish President Karol Nawrocki on Friday.
Leo was elected by the world’s cardinals in May to replace Francis, who had become a frequent critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The war began with the October 7, 2023, attack, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 251 people.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 48 hostages, including 47 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 26 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 62,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.