Pope Leo XIV will receive Israel’s president Isaac Herzog in the Vatican on Thursday morning, Sept. 4. The news was announced simultaneously by the Holy See Press Office and the Israeli president’s spokesman after midday, Sept. 2.

This will be the leaders’ first in-depth conversation, although they have previously met. Mr. Herzog attended the inauguration Mass for the beginning of Leo’s ministry, along with many other heads of state, on May 18, and they met then for a handshake and a brief exchange.

At the end of that inauguration Mass, Pope Leo mentioned the situation in Gaza in the presence of the Israeli president: “In the joy of faith and communion, we cannot forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war. In Gaza, the surviving children, families and elderly are reduced to starvation.”

Pope Leo also spoke by phone with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 18, a day after Israeli forces hit Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, killing three people and injuring several others. The Vatican said the pope called for negotiations, a ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza. He also “expressed his concern about the tragic humanitarian situation of the population in Gaza, whose children, elderly, and sick are paying an agonizing price” and reiterated the need “to protect places of worship and, especially, the faithful and all people in Palestine and Israel.”

President Herzog’s visit comes at a very delicate political moment, as Israeli forces have laid siege to Gaza City in an attempt to take full control of it and have already reduced parts of it to rubble. They have blockaded the population—almost 1 million people—from receiving food, medical supplies and other humanitarian aid, even as many Palestinians are dying of starvation, according to the Gaza Ministry for Health and international agencies. Furthermore, Israeli and international human rights organizations, several governments and many scholars of genocide, including Jewish ones, have accused Israel of commiting war crimes and genocide since Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. South Africa has taken the charge of genocide to the International Court of Justice, where it is being studied. The Israeli government denies these charges.

Today’s statement from Jason Pearlman, the spokesperson for the Israeli president, said Mr. Herzog is coming “for a one day visit to the Vatican at the invitation of the Pope.” Asked whether Pope Leo invited him, a senior Vatican official said “an audience is granted,” suggesting that it was requested. This evening, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni issued a communiqué to journalists saying, “It is the practice of the Holy See to grant requests for an audience with the Pope made by Heads of State and Government; it is not the practice to issue invitations to them.”

The Israeli statement said President Herzog would meet Pope Leo and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, in the Vatican on Thursday morning. The Holy See Press Office announced that the president would meet the pope at 10:00 a.m. If the normal Vatican protocol is followed, the pope will meet the president first in a one-to-one private meeting, and afterward the president will have a separate meeting with the secretary of state. There will be no need for translators, as all three speak English fluently.

The statement from the Israeli president’s spokesperson said, “Central to their meetings will be the efforts to secure the release of the hostages, the fight against global antisemitism, and the safeguarding of Christian communities in the Middle East, alongside discussions on other political matters.”

The Vatican has not said what issues the pope and his top advisor intend to raise with the Israeli president. It seems almost certain, however, that in the light of statements made by Pope Leo and Cardinal Parolin in recent times, they will push for an end to the war in Gaza and for humanitarian aid to be allowed to reach the Palestinian population there. It is probable, too, that they will call for an end to human rights violations and the breach of international law in Gaza and in the West Bank, which both Pope Leo and Cardinal Parolin have spoken about publicly in recent months.

The Israeli statement announced that after Mr. Herzog’s conversations with the pope and secretary of state, he “will tour the Vatican Archives and Library, before returning to Israel in the afternoon.”

Update 09/02/2025 2:53 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with a statement from Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni.

Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.