Pope Leo XIV has called for humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip and for an end to the "heartbreaking" toll on its people.

Pope Leo XIV says the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, "the heartbreaking price of which is paid by children, the elderly, the sick," must end and food must be allowed in.

Pope Leo XIV called again for aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip and for hostilities to end at his first weekly audience on St Peter's Square in Rome. "I renew my appeal to allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to put an end to the hostilities,

Hospitals in Gaza say Israeli strikes overnight and into Wednesday have killed at least 45 people, including several women and a week-old infant

Britain pledged on Wednesday 4 million pounds ($5.37 million) in humanitarian aid to Gaza, the government said, as Minister for Development Jenny Chapman visited Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

The European Commission on Wednesday announced an additional €50 million ($56. 7 million) in humanitarian aid for Gaza and the West Bank as part of a larger aid package for the region.

Israeli strikes continued to pound the Gaza Strip Wednesday, despite a surge in international anger at Israel's widening offensive. The attacks killed at least 82 people,

No aid has yet been distributed in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations said on Tuesday, a day after Israel allowed limited humanitarian deliveries to resume after an 11-week blockade on the Palestinian enclave,