Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged “courage” from all sides in the ongoing Gaza peace process.

“The agreement to begin the peace process has given a spark of hope in the Holy Land. I encourage the parties involved to courageously continue on the path towards a just and lasting peace that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.” the US-born pontiff said at the end of his weekly Angelus prayer in Rome.

His remarks came a day before a major peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, co-chaired by US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, aimed at ending the two-year war in Gaza.

The summit follows a fragile ceasefire agreement, part of the first phase of a US-backed peace plan that seeks to halt hostilities, secure the release of hostages, and pave the way for long-term reconstruction and demilitarisation of the territory.

Meanwhile, Israel said Sunday it will move forward with plans to eliminate Hamas’s remaining tunnel infrastructure once the hostage release process is complete.

“Israel’s great challenge after the hostage release phase will be the destruction of all Hamas terrorist tunnels in Gaza. I have ordered the army to prepare to carry out this mission.” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Katz said the operation would be conducted under an “international mechanism” led by the United States, which brokered the ceasefire.

Hamas, which operates a vast underground tunnel system across Gaza, has agreed to the first phase of the deal that saw a truce take effect on Friday. On Monday, the group is expected to release 48 Israeli hostages, both living and dead, in exchange for the release of 250 prisoners and 1,700 Gazans detained by the Israeli military.

The tunnels, some of which extend into Israeli territory, were used for surprise attacks during the group’s October 7, 2023, assault that triggered Israel’s two-year counteroffensive. Thousands of tunnels have since been destroyed, but Israeli officials say many remain.

Hamas, however, has pushed back against the disarmament clause of the US plan. Senior official Hossam Badran told AFP the second phase “contains many complexities and difficulties.”

Pope Leo, reflecting on the conflict’s toll, said two years of fighting have “left death and destruction everywhere, especially in the hearts of those who have brutally lost their children, their parents, their friends, everything.”

He prayed for “the courage to accomplish what now seems humanly impossible — to rediscover that the other is not an enemy, but a brother to look to, forgive, and offer the hope of reconciliation.”

The pontiff also voiced sorrow over renewed violence in Ukraine, condemning attacks that have killed civilians and children. “My heart goes out to the suffering population, who have lived in anguish and deprivation for years,” he said, renewing his call for peace.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday urged Trump to replicate his efforts in Gaza by mediating a peace process for Ukraine, saying, “If the US president can stop one war, others can be stopped as well.”