STORY: Palestinian Christians celebrated Easter Mass on Sunday (April 5) at Gaza City's Holy Family church, the first since ceasefire deal was agreed last October between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group running the war-torn enclave.

Easter is one of the most important celebrations in the Christian calendar and Pope Leo in Rome said that the story of Easter, when the Bible says Jesus rose from the dead three days after not resisting his execution by crucifixion, shows that Christ was "entirely nonviolent".

Speaking in St. Peter's Square the pope urged global leaders to end the conflicts raging across the world and abandon any schemes for power, conquest or domination.

"We hope and we pray, and we prayed for peace to prevail in our country, Palestine, and the rest of the countries, and especially Palestine," said George Antonio at the Gaza church.

An Israeli airstrike killed four Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, local health authorities said, in the latest violence to overshadow a fragile ceasefire amid a new push by mediators to bolster the agreement.

Hamas and Israel have traded blame for violations of the ceasefire agreed last October, which halted two years of full-blown war.

The Gaza health ministry says Israeli fire has killed at least 700 people since the ceasefire began. Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: GAZA CITY, GAZA (APRIL 5, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. EASTER SUNDAY MASS AT GAZA CITY’S HOLY FAMILY CHURCH

2. VARIOUS OF PRIESTS LEADING MASS

3. VARIOUS OF SISTERS AND WORSHIPPERS DURING MASS

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN CHRISTIAN, AMIN AL-SABBAGH, SAYING:

“After the ceasefire, this is the first feast in which people feel the joy, despite the existing lump (in the throat) and the existing sadness over the siege and the ongoing killing everywhere. Definitely, we share with our brothers in Jerusalem their inability to celebrate during these days, but we tell them that we are celebrating on your behalf in Gaza, and we wish the conditions in Jerusalem and the West Bank return to calm and peace. We also wish wars to end and peace to prevail.”

5. CROSS

6. VARIOUS OF ONGOING MASS

7. VARIOUS OF YOUTHS SINGING

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN CHRISTIAN, GEORGE ANTONIO, SAYING:

“We hope and we pray, and we prayed for peace to prevail in our country, Palestine, and the rest of the countries, and especially Palestine. We are, during this great day, as we celebrate for the first time the feast of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead under the ceasefire, we pray for Jerusalem, which is closed now, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We pray for them, for the residents of Jerusalem.”

9. PRIESTS LEADING MASS

10. VARIOUS OF ONGOING MASS

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEUROSURGEON AT PANZMA (PALESTINIAN AUSTRALIAN NEW ZEALAND MEDICAL ASSOCIATION), RUTH MITCHELL, SAYING:

“Well, it feels really special to be here at Easter at this church, which has meant so much for the people of Gaza, but it also has meant so much for those of us who have been watching from long way away, to see what has been happening here over the last two and a half years. For me, being inside the church today, it felt very spiritual. I felt very connected and I felt very welcomed by the congregation and by the beautiful people of Gaza who have been keeping their faith and their traditions alive in the most difficult circumstances."

12. VARIOUS OF ONGOING MASS /WORSHIPPERS KISSING PICTURE / SISTER HOLDING BABY

13. VARIOUS OF PRIEST GREETING WORSHIPPERS AS THEY EXIT CHURCH

14. CROSS

15. WORSHIPPERS AT CHURCH'S EXTERIOR