Pope Francis has called for a ceasefire in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
He made the call in his Easter message.
The Catholic pontiff appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday as an aide read out his “Urbi et” Orbi”—Latin for “To the city and the world.”
The 88-year-old, who is still recovering from a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia, condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” caused by Israel’s 18-month war on Gaza.
Pope in the message appeals to the warring parties to call a ceasefire, release the hostages, and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.
The Easter message comes as Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed no fewer than 25 people across the Gaza Strip, including women and children.
Israel had resumed its aerial and ground assault on Gaza on March 18, reigniting fighting after a two-month ceasefire that had paused more than 15 months of war in the coastal territory.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday declared that he would continue the war and bring home the remaining hostages held in Gaza without yielding to Hamas’s demands.
