Pope Francis Dies After Final Appeal for Gaza Cease-Fire

The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis has died at the age of 88, hours after he appeared at an Easter mass and appealed for an end to Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.

The pope’s Easter address, read aloud by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, decried the “terrible conflict” in Gaza that “continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation.”

“I appeal to the warring parties: call a cease-fire, release the hostages, and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!” said the message from the pope, an outspoken opponent of military conflict and war profiteers, climate destruction, and runaway economic inequality.

“In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenceless civilians and attack schools, hospitals, and humanitarian workers, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity,” the pope’s address continued.

News of Pope Francis’ death came after a bout with double pneumonia left him hospitalized for more than a month. The Vatican did not specify a cause of death in its announcement.

Pope Francis was a true Christian who traversed the path of Jesus in its truest spirit. The whole world will miss his spiritual guidance

Xavier Abu Eid, a political scientist and former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Palestinians have lost a dear friend with the death of Francis, whom he described as a staunch defender of their right to self-determination.

“From a diplomatic perspective, he tried to have influence in the region as he did several visits to Arab countries,” Abu Eid told Al Jazeera, adding that the most famous picture of the pontiff was him standing by the Israeli wall that separates Jerusalem from Bethlehem.

“This was an incredible moment for so many people. I was there, and it was not part of the programme. It was his decision to stop by the wall. He just walked peacefully, and all looked how he stood by and prayed in a place that then became a pilgrimage site in Bethlehem,” he said.

“He kept the same position that [Pope] John Paul II had when the wall started to be built, where he said the Holy Land needed bridges and not walls. That was repeated by Pope Francis, who stood heavily for the right of the Palestinian people for self-determination,” he added.