Pope’s Easter message renews call for Israel-Gaza ceasefire, release of hostages
- ‘I appeal once again that access to humanitarian aid be ensured, and call once more for the prompt release of hostages and for an immediate ceasefire’
- The 87-year-old arrived in a wheelchair to preside over Sunday’s mass, a key part of the Catholic calendar, with the event broadcast live around the world
Pope Francis on Sunday renewed his calls for the release of Israeli hostages and an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as fresh truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas were due to begin.
“I appeal once again that access to humanitarian aid be ensured to Gaza, and call once more for the prompt release of the hostages seized on October 7 and for an immediate ceasefire in the Strip,” the 87-year-old said in his Easter message in the Vatican, as concerns persist over his health.
After arriving in a wheelchair he delivered a 10-minute homily in Italian, with the event broadcast live around the globe. He spoke without any undue difficulty and condemned “the walls of selfishness and indifference” in the world.
“How much suffering we see in the eyes of children, the children have forgotten to smile in those war zones. With their eyes, children ask us: Why? Why all this death? Why all this destruction? War is always an absurdity and a defeat,” Pope Francis said.
At the end of the two-and-a-half-hour service he showed little sign of fatigue, taking time to greet and bless some of the worshippers.
