‘We need to pray a lot,’ Pope Leo says after Israeli attack in Qatar

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The “whole situation” in the Middle East “is very serious,” Pope Leo XIV told reporters after Israel launched an attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar. “In these moments, there is very serious news of an Israeli attack against some Hamas leaders, but in Qatar,” the pope said Sept. 9. Qatar, in the Persian Gulf, has been trying to mediate an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. “The whole situation is very serious,” the pope told the reporters who were waiting for him as he left Castel Gandolfo to return to the Vatican. “We need to pray a lot,” Pope Leo said.