Pope marks first Easter under cloud of Mideast war

Pope Leo XIV is set to mark Easter Sunday for the first time as pontiff, with the Middle East war casting a pall over the most important date in the Christian calendar.

The US-born pope, who has emerged as a leading voice against the war, will hold mass in St Peter's Square from 0830 GMT in front of thousands of faithful.

The leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics will then pronounce a traditional blessing at 1000 GMT that will be closely followed this year.

The ceremony will also bring back memories of late Pope Francis, who last appeared in public on Easter Sunday last year - a few hours before he died.

Speaking during an Easter Vigil on Saturday, the pontiff called for "a new world of peace and unity" and decried the divisions created by "war, injustice and the isolation of peoples and nations".

Leo has repeatedly called for peace in the Middle East and this week directly urged US President Donald Trump to find an "off-ramp".

From the deserted Old City of Jerusalem to the Christian villages in Lebanon caught in the crossfire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, the Middle East war has set a dark tone for a normally joyous celebration.

In Jerusalem, services in the Holy Sepulchre, the site where Christians believe Christ was resurrected, are being held behind closed doors.

Israel has imposed restrictions on large gatherings as a security precaution because of the constant threat of strikes since the US and Israel began bombarding Iran on 28 February.

"It is the first time in my life that I experience a total closure" of the Holy Sepulchre, Jack Straw, a 52-year-old resident of Jerusalem's Old City, told AFP.

"It's sad. The Sepulchre is empty. It's the symbol of the most important event in Christian history," he said, adding that he hoped the closure would only be for this year.

'Situation is tragic' 

"The doors are still closed," the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said in his Easter Vigil homily at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Pizzaballa was prevented by Israeli police from holding a mass in the church last Sunday, an incident that sparked international indignation.

"The silence is almost absolute, broken perhaps by the distant sound of what war continues to sow in this holy and torn land," he said, according to a text of his sermon issued by his office.

In Lebanon, the majority Christian areas in the south of the country are caught in the crossfire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

In Debel, close to the Israeli border, inhabitants prepared to celebrate Easter Sunday despite the sound of bombardment around their village, now almost totally cut off from the world and dependent on aid deliveries.

"The situation is tragic," town notable Joseph Attieh told AFP by phone.

"People are terrified, and the sound of shelling and gunfire has not stopped for a moment since last night. We haven't been able to sleep.

"We are putting our trust in God," Attieh said, since "this is the only glimmer of hope we will not give up on".