Pope Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all Israeli hostages in an Easter Sunday address that marks the most important day on the Christian calendar and expressed regret for the suffering caused by the war.

The Pope celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Square, which was packed with flowers, and 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, 87, has been in poor health in recent weeks, forcing him to repeatedly limit public speaking and cancel events, as he did on Good Friday, skipping a Colosseum procession at short notice.

However, he attended other Holy Week events before Easter and appeared to be in relatively good spirits on Sunday. Easter celebrates the day when believers believe Jesus rose from the dead.

After the ceremony, Francis rode in his open-top papal limousine to greet crowds in the square and on the avenue that connects St. Peter’s Basilica to the Tiber River. The Vatican said about 60,000 people attended.

“Why do these deaths occur?”

Francis has repeatedly expressed regret for the death and destruction caused by the war in Gaza and on Sunday again called for a ceasefire.

“I reiterate my call to ensure humanitarian assistance to Gaza and reiterate my call for the immediate release of the hostages seized on October 7 last year and for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” he said in Urbi et Orbi speech.

“How much suffering we see in the eyes of children, in those war zones, children who have forgotten to smile. Children ask us with their eyes: Why? Why is there so much death? Why is there so much destruction? War is always absurd and cruel. “Failure,” he added.

The pope’s Easter message traditionally focuses on world affairs, and he also mentioned other hot-button issues, including Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan, the Sahel and Horn of Africa regions, Congo and Mozambique.

Last year, Francis asked Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi to mediate on the repatriation of Ukrainian children from Russia and Russian-occupied territories, later calling for a “comprehensive exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine.”

He also condemned human trafficking and prayed for “a path of hope” for people suffering from violence, hunger and the effects of climate change, and offered comfort to “victims of all forms of terrorism.”