Hello and welcome to the details of Pope Francis makes brief Easter appearance, calls for Gaza ceasefire and urges release of hostages and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Pope Francis appears on the main balcony of St. Peter's basilica during the Urbi et Orbi message and blessing to the city and the world as part of Easter celebrations, at St Peter's square in the Vatican on April 20, 2025. — AFP pic
- Easter Sunday message read aloud by an aide
- Pope, recovering from pneumonia, looked on from balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica
- Message says situation in Gaza deplorable, calls on Hamas to free hostages
VATICAN CITY, April 20 — Pope Francis reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in an Easter Sunday message read aloud by an aide as the pontiff, still recovering from pneumonia, looked on during a brief appearance on the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The 88-year-old pope, limiting his workload on doctors’ orders, did not preside over the Vatican’s Mass for Easter but appeared at the end of the event for a twice-yearly blessing and message known as the “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world).
Before a five-week hospital stay for pneumonia, which nearly killed him, Francis had been ramping up criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave “very serious and shameful” in January.
In the Easter message, the pontiff said the situation in Gaza was “dramatic and deplorable”. The pope also called on Palestinian militant group Hamas to release its remaining hostages and condemned what he said was a “worrisome” trend of antisemitism in the world.
Pope Francis speaks from a balcony on the day of the ‘Urbi et Orbi’ (to the city and to the world) message, at St. Peter's Square, on Easter Sunday, in the Vatican April 20, 2025. — Reuters pic
“I express my closeness to the sufferings... of all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people,” said the message.
“I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace,” it said.
Hamas last week rejected an Israeli proposal for another temporary truce, instead demanding a deal to end the war in exchange for the release of hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday he had instructed the Israeli military to intensify pressure on Hamas.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel in 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to local health authorities. The Gaza health ministry says 1,600 people have been killed in the past month.
Pope Francis meets with US Vice President JD Vance on Easter Sunday at the Vatican April 20, 2025. — Vatican Media handout pic via Reuters
Earlier today, Francis held a meeting at the Vatican with US Vice President JD Vance, who has been visiting Italy over the weekend.
The Vatican said the meeting with Vance was brief, “lasting a few minutes”, in order to exchange Easter greetings. — Reuters
These were the details of the news Pope Francis makes brief Easter appearance, calls for Gaza ceasefire and urges release of hostages for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.
