Vatican City - Pope Leo XIV called Wednesday for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza as the Palestinian territory teeters on the brink of catastrophe amid Israel's relentless assault.

"The situation in the Gaza Strip is worrying and painful," the pope said during his first weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

"I renew my heartfelt appeal to allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to put an end to the hostilities, the heartbreaking price of which is paid by children, the elderly, the sick."

Leo, who was elected on May 8 to be the Catholic Church's first US pope, has made peace a theme of his papacy so far, calling for an end to Israel's destruction of Gaza and the release of all hostages.

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Israel has come under massive international pressure to abandon a bloody campaign that has been deemed genocidal by many experts, due to its mass slaughter of civilians and blockade on all humanitarian aid, as well as Israeli politicians frequent statements calling for the extermination of Palestinians and a takeover of Gaza.

The UN announced Monday that it had been cleared to send in a trickle of aid for the first time since March 2, but aid groups say it has not been distributed and the amount allowed in is nowhere near sufficient.

On Tuesday, the UN's human rights chief warned that tens of thousands of Palestinian babies are at imminent risk of dying if the situation does not drastically change.