Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, has died aged 88, the Vatican says.

His death on Monday came shortly after a bout of double pneumonia that kept him hospitalised for five weeks at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

Just a day earlier, the pontiff made what would be his final major appearance as he greeted thousands of Easter worshippers from an open-top Popemobile in St Peter’s Square and delivered a blessing through an aide.

The death of the 266th pope prompted tributes from across the world:

Italy

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni mourned the loss of “a great man, a great shepherd” and expressed deep sorrow.

“I had the privilege of enjoying his friendship, his advice, his teachings, which never ceased, not even during times of trial and suffering,” she said. “We say goodbye to the holy father with a heart full of sadness.”

Italy’s football authorities postponed matches scheduled for Monday.

Argentina

The presidency office “deeply regretted” the death of the first Argentinian leader of the Catholic Church. President Javier Milei, who previously clashed with the pope, praised Francis’s focus on interreligious dialogue, encouragement of spirituality among the young, and focus on cost-cutting in the Vatican.

European Union

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Francis’s life was defined by his efforts to build a fairer and more peaceful world. “He inspired millions, far beyond the Catholic Church, with his humility and love so pure for the less fortunate,” she said.

United States

The White House shared a tribute on social media, writing “Rest in Peace, Pope Francis” alongside a photo of the pope meeting President Donald Trump and the first lady. In a separate post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!”

Vice President JD Vance, who met the pope on Sunday, said: “My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.”

Russia

President Vladimir Putin expressed his “sincere condolences”, praising the efforts of Francis to strengthen ties between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Churches. The Moscow Patriarchate echoed the sentiment, saying the late pontiff had played a key role in advancing dialogue between the two branches of Christianity.

India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “Pope Francis will always be remembered as a beacon of compassion, humility and spiritual courage by millions across the world. He diligently served the poor and downtrodden. For those who were suffering, he ignited a spirit of hope.”

France

President Emmanuel Macron praised the late pontiff for his enduring solidarity with society’s most vulnerable. “In this time of war and brutality, he had a sense for the other, for the most fragile,” Macron said, commending his humility.

Brazil

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hailed Pope Francis for his work on climate change and social justice. “With his simplicity, his courage and empathy, Francis brought the topic of climate change to the Vatican,” he said. “The pope vigorously criticised the economic models that have brought so much injustice to humanity.”

Mexico

President Claudia Sheinbaum called the passing of Pope Francis a “great loss”, saying it was a “great honour and privilege” to have known him. “A humanist who opted for the poor, peace and equality. He leaves a great legacy of true love for his neighbour. For Catholics and non-Catholics alike, it is a great loss,” she wrote on X.

South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa said, “Catholics and people of all faiths are saddened today by the passing of a spiritual leader who sought to unite humanity.” He praised the pope’s advocacy for inclusion, equality, and environmental stewardship.

Palestinian Authority

President Mahmoud Abbas called Francis a “loyal friend of the Palestinian people” and a “strong defender of peace, love and faith”. He said the pope’s support for Palestinian rights and justice never wavered, noting that Francis “recognised the Palestinian state and authorised the Palestinian flag to be raised in the Vatican”.

Bangladesh

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, leader of Bangladesh’s interim government, called Pope Francis a “true friend and kindred spirit”. He recalled his “profound connection” with the late pontiff, whom he described as a “towering figure of moral clarity, humility, and compassion in our time”.

Philippines

In the Philippines, which boasts Asia’s largest Catholic population, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr called Francis “the best pope in my lifetime”, praising his humility, faith, and compassion for the poor. Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David expressed shock and urged churches to ring their bells and call people to pray for the pope’s “eternal repose”.

Poland

Polish President Andrzej Duda hailed Francis as “a great apostle of mercy”, saying the pontiff’s example offered answers to contemporary challenges. “In his pastoral ministry, he was guided by humility and simplicity.”

Spain

The European country has declared three days of mourning. Justice Minister Felix Bolanos said in a televised address that the country regrets “the death of a good man and a great pope” and praised Francis’s “reformist” papacy that “will leave a legacy for history”.

Australia

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Francis would be mourned by Australians of all faiths, describing him as “a devoted champion and loving father” to Catholics. “His compassion embraced all humanity,” Albanese told ABC News. “He urged us to hear the cry of the earth and remember all we share.”

Ethiopia

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the pope’s passing was a loss not only for Catholics but for humanity. “May his soul rest in eternal peace, and may his legacy of compassion, humility and service to humanity continue to inspire generations to come,” he said.

East Timor

President Jose Ramos-Horta described Francis’s death as a global loss. He announced the nation’s flags would be lowered to half-staff for a week with a mass to follow in tribute to the pope’s life and service.

Egypt

Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church mourned Pope Francis, calling him “a true example of Christian humility”.

Germany

Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, said Francis would be remembered for his unwavering commitment to marginalised groups. “He was guided by humility and faith in God’s mercy,” Merz wrote on X.

Iran

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged Francis’s global spiritual influence. Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran “extends condolences to all Christians around the world”.

Tibet

The Dalai Lama offered Buddhist prayers, writing to the papal envoy to “express his sadness” over the death. “Pope Francis dedicated himself to the service of others … consistently revealing by his own actions how to live a simple, but meaningful life,” he said in a statement from his base in exile in India. “The best tribute we can pay to him is to be a warm-hearted person, serving others wherever and in whatever way we can.”

United Kingdom

King Charles said he was “most deeply saddened”, praising Pope Francis’s “compassion”, commitment to unity, and the environment.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his condolences, saying Francis’s “tireless efforts to promote a world that is fairer for all” would be remembered.

United Nations

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed what he called Pope Francis’s historic influence as a voice for peace and human dignity.

“I join the world in mourning the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis, a messenger of hope, humility and humanity,” he said in a statement.

Access to el-Fasher and nearby camps ‘dangerously restricted’, with up to 450,000 people estimated to be on the move.

Aid organisations are struggling to respond to the deepening humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s North Darfur, being driven by attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the United Nations has warned.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said in a statement released late on Sunday that access for humanitarian aid remains “dangerously restricted” in the capital city of el-Fasher and surrounding areas, where the RSF has launched multiple attacks over recent weeks.

Those attacks have triggered a mass exodus from Zamzam, Abu Shouk and other refugee camps, a situation which is “increasingly fluid” and “unpredictable” amid fears that the RSF is preparing a broader offensive.

Two years into its conflict with Sudan’s military government, the RSF attacked Zamzam – said to have sheltered up to 1 million people – and Abu Shouk camps just more than a week ago, killing at least 300 people and forcing up to 400,000 residents to flee 60km (37 miles) across the desert to the town of Tawila.

In her statement, Nkweta-Salami said that up to 450,000 displaced people are being “increasingly cut off from supply chains and assistance, placing them at heightened risk of epidemic outbreaks, malnutrition and famine”.

She called for UN and NGO actors to be granted “immediate and sustained access to these areas to ensure life-saving support can be delivered safely and at scale”.

‘Absolutely catastrophic’

Late last week, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) medical charity said that displaced people in Tawila were “facing an absolutely catastrophic situation”.

“There is no water source, no sanitation facilities and no food,” said the MSF’s Thibault Hendler.

Project coordinator Marion Ramstein said the NGO had seen more than 170 people with gunshot and blast injuries, 40 percent of them women and girls.

New arrivals in Tawila told the AFP news agency that they had been robbed of their possessions by the paramilitaries, with several women reporting that they had been raped on the road.

Tawila is controlled by an armed group that has kept out of the conflict between the RSF and the regular army, which broke out in April 2023.

The conflict has divided Sudan in two, with the army holding sway in the north and east, while the RSF controls most of Darfur and parts of the south.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million, and created what the UN has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The Israeli military has released details of an investigation into its own killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics and aid workers in Gaza last month, saying its code of ethics was not violated and only one soldier is dismissed, in an attack that sparked outrage in the international community.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the Israeli rights organisation Breaking the Silence rejected the findings of the Israeli probe on Sunday.

PRCS’s president told Al-Araby TV that the Israeli narrative on the killings in Rafah was “contradictory”.

“It is incomprehensible why the occupation soldiers buried the bodies of the paramedics in a criminal manner,” Younis al-Khatib said.

Al-Khatib added that the Israeli army communicated with the paramedics before killing them and that the evidence – including a video showing their ambulances flashing emergency lights – proved “the falsity of the occupation’s narrative regarding the limited visibility at the site”.

“An independent and impartial investigation must be conducted by a UN body,” he said.

PRCS, which had medics killed by Israel in the incident, also denounced the Israeli report as “full of lies” on Sunday. “It is invalid and unacceptable, as it justifies the killing and shifts responsibility to a personal error in the field command when the truth is quite different,” Nebal Farsakh, spokesperson for the organisation, told the AFP news agency.

The PRCS said last week that it received confirmation from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that one of its medics who was missing is being held by Israel.

🚨Urgent: We have been informed by the International Committee of the Red Cross that PRCS medic Assad Al-Nsasrah is being held by the Israeli occupation authorities. His fate had remained unknown since he was targeted along with other PRCS medics in #Rafah.
📢We call on the… pic.twitter.com/l0oOxujS8G

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) April 13, 2025

The Israeli army on Sunday claimed that six of the aid workers who were killed and buried in a shallow mass grave along with their ambulances were Hamas “terrorists”, without providing any evidence.

It admitted its probe detected a series of “professional failures”, including partial and inaccurate reporting by the commanding officers in the field invading southern Gaza’s Rafah.

The deputy commander of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion will be dismissed, while the commanding officer of the 14th Brigade is to receive a reprimand.

The examination also found “no evidence to support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting”, despite the testimonies and the evidence.

The Israeli military had initially claimed that the ambulances and aid workers were not clearly marked as first responders and approached its troops “suspiciously”.

A mobile phone video recorded by one of the killed aid workers that was obtained by the New York Times showed that the crew were clearly marked and visible to Israeli forces, and were killed by Israeli fire that lasted several minutes.

United Nations and Palestinian officials later found the mass grave and the bulldozed ambulances and bodies after Israeli authorities granted access to the area of the mostly destroyed city of Rafah bordering Egypt.

‘Another day, another cover-up’

The Israeli anti-occupation group Breaking the Silence said the military investigation is “riddled with contradictions, vague phrasing, and selective details”.

“Not every lie has a video to expose it, but this report doesn’t even attempt to engage with the truth,” the group said. “Another day, another cover-up. More innocent lives taken, with no accountability.”

But far-right voices in the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believe the army is going too far in punishing the soldiers.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s ultranationalist national security minister, said the decision to dismiss the deputy commander was a “grave mistake” that must be reversed.

“Our combat soldiers, who are sacrificing their lives in Gaza, deserve our full support,” he said.

‘Report invites many questions’

Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Nice told Al Jazeera that the findings of the probe raise questions about the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza and the thoroughness of the investigative process.

“It’s a pretty surprising document. It’s also a document that invites many questions that it will be difficult, I suspect, for the [Israeli military] to answer,” Nice said in a television interview.

“For example, [there is] the proposition that six of these people were Hamas, presumably members of Hamas on active [military] service, not people who might have been associated with Hamas in some way. No documentary evidence at all is identified [for that].”

Israel has a track record of denying accusations of wrongdoing and contradicting its own earlier statements.

Past investigations have exonerated the armed forces or placed the blame on a single individual without broader repercussions.

The UN accused the Israeli military of being responsible for the killing of the 15 aid workers, along with the killing of a Bulgarian UN staff member and wounding of six other foreign staff in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah last month.

The organisation has been forced to significantly cut its staff in Gaza as the war’s death toll continues to mount.