Video of Pope Francis lamenting Gaza 'sad news' is from 2023

Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip, including during an Easter Sunday address delivered the day before he died. But numerous social media posts claiming to show footage of his final speech are mistaken; the video spreading online shows separate remarks the pontiff made in December 2023.

"Pope Francis used his last public address to call for a ceasefire in Gaza," says an April 21, 2025 post on X from far-right US influencer Jackson Hinkle, who has previously shared disinformation about the Israel-Hamas war and other conflicts.

The video shows Pope Francis speaking from St Peter's Square about the death of two Christian women in the Gaza Strip -- a mother and daughter whom the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said were shot dead by an Israeli soldier on the grounds of the Palestinian territory's only Catholic Church.

Similar posts spread across X, Instagram and Threads, after the Vatican announced April 21, 2025 that the 88-year-old Argentine reformer had died of a stroke. The video also circulated in Spanish.

Pope Francis repeatedly denounced the war in Gaza that broke out following Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, a stance that strained relations with Israel but earned the pontiff tributes from Middle Eastern leaders and Arab movements following his death. He also regularly phoned a small Christian congregation in the besieged territory.

On April 20, the day before he died, the pope condemned a "growing climate of anti-Semitism" while also reiterating his calls for a ceasefire.

"I think of the people of Gaza, and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation," he said in his Easter address, which was read by a collaborator as the pontiff sat in his wheelchair on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica (archived here).

"I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!"

The video circulated online, however, does not show Pope Francis's Easter address.

A reverse image search revealed that the footage -- in which the pope himself is speaking -- dates to December 17, 2023, when it appeared on the official Vatican News YouTube channel. (archived here).

According to the Vatican's official English transcript of his remarks, the pope spoke at the end of the Angelus prayer about two women who died in the Gaza strip (archived here).

"Let us not forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war, in Ukraine, in Palestine and Israel, and in other conflict zones. As Christmas approaches, may the dedication to open paths of peace be strengthened," he began.

"I continue to receive very serious and sad news about Gaza. Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and shootings. And this happened even within the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities, sisters. A mother and her daughter ... were killed, and other people wounded by snipers as they were going to the bathroom. The house of the Sisters of Mother Teresa was damaged and their generator was hit."

Pope Francis also pressed for a ceasefire.

AFP reported on his remarks at the time, which followed a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem saying an Israeli sniper was responsible for the deaths. The Israeli army told AFP that it had been contacted by church representatives but that "no reports of a hit on the church, nor civilians being injured or killed, were raised."

AFP has debunked other misinformation surrounding the pope's death here.