Pope Francis calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in Easter address

Pope Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in his Easter address on Sunday.

Amid renewed concerns about his health, Pope Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass, in a packed and flower-bedecked St Peter’s Square.

The pontiff then delivered his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing and message from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.

Francis has repeatedly deplored the death and destruction in the Gaza war and he renewed his call for a ceasefire in his address marking Easter Sunday. 

“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 last October 7 and for an immediate ceasefire in the Strip,” he said.

“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”, he added.

As the pope’s Easter message traditionally focuses on world affairs, this year he also mentioned other flashpoints, including Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan, the Sahel and Horn of Africa regions, Congo and Mozambique.

After asking Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi last year to mediate the repatriation of Ukrainian children from Russia and Russian-occupied territories, Pope Francis also called for “a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine”.

The Pope also condemned human trafficking and prayed for “a path of hope” for those suffering from violence, hunger, and the effects of climate change, as well as consolation for “the victims of terrorism in all its forms”.