Pope Leo decries suffering of Palestinians in Gaza in Christmas sermon Pope Leo on Thursday decried the conditions ‍Palestinians in ‍Gaza are living in due to the Israeli genocidal war and the blockage on essential supplies. In his Christmas sermon, the Pope said: "The story of Jesus being born in a stable showed that God ​had pitched his fragile tent among the people of the world. How, then, ‍can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold." Leo, who is the first American ⁠pope, last month said that the only solution to the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people must include a Palestinian state.