Pope Leo to appeal for peace during Lebanon trip, amid daily Israeli strikes

Pope Leo travels to Lebanon on Sunday, where he is expected to appeal for peace in a country that is a continued target of Israeli air strikes.

The first American pope will arrive from Turkey, where he has been visiting for four days and warned that humanity's future was at risk because of the number of bloody conflicts and condemned violence in the name of religion.

Leo is due to land at Beirut's Hariri International Airport at 3:45pm (1345 GMT), ahead of meetings with the Lebanese president and prime minister and an address to national leaders.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Friday that he hoped Leo's visit would help bring an end to Israeli attacks. Despite a ceasefire agreed a year ago, Israeli forces carry out near daily strikes on Lebanon.

Lebanon's diverse communities have also welcomed the papal trip, with leading Druze cleric Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna saying Lebanon "needs the glimmer of hope represented by this visit".

The pope has a crowded itinerary in Lebanon, visiting five cities and towns from Sunday to Tuesday, when he returns to Rome. Leo will not travel to the south, the target of Israeli strikes.

His schedule includes a prayer at the site of a 2020 chemical explosion at the Beirut port that killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars' worth of damage.