(LONDON and ROME) — Pope Francis’s health condition has shown slight improvement in the last 24 hours, according to the Vatican.
The slight renal insufficiency the pope had in recent days has subsided and a Tuesday CAT scan of the chest showed a normal evolution of the pulmonary inflammatory picture.
The blood chemistry and blood cell count tests carried out today have confirmed the pope’s improvement, but he remains on high-flow oxygen therapy and did not have any asthmatic-like respiratory crises.
“Although there has been a slight improvement, the prognosis remains guarded,” the Vatican said Wednesday.
The pope received the Eucharist on Wednesday morning and the afternoon was dedicated to work activities, the Vatican said.
The pope spent another “quiet night” in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been recovering from a bout with bronchitis since Feb. 14, the Vatican said early Wednesday.
Pope Francis’ condition remains “critical but stable,” Vatican officials said in a brief update on Tuesday.
“There have been no acute respiratory episodes and hemodynamic parameters continue to be stable. In the evening, he underwent a scheduled CT scan for radiological monitoring of the bilateral pneumonia. The prognosis remains uncertain,” the Vatican said Tuesday.
Vatican officials said Sunday he remained in critical condition but officials said that he had shown a “slight improvement” on Monday.
Further updates on the pontiff’s condition are expected on Wednesday.
ROME and LONDON — Pope Francis rested overnight in the hospital, the Vatican said on Sunday.
“The night passed peacefully. The Pope rested,” the Holy See said in a short statement.
The 88-year-old pontiff underwent another round of clinical tests on Sunday morning, Vatican sources told ABC News. A medical update was expected to be released later in the day.
Francis continued on Sunday to receive oxygen therapy to aid his breathing, the sources said. Francis on Saturday morning suffered a “prolonged” asthmatic respiratory crisis, during which doctors supplied him with oxygen, the Vatican said.
The pontiff in a written prayer released on Sunday said he was “confidently continuing” his hospitalization, adding that “rest is also part of the therapy!”
“I sincerely thank the doctors and health workers of this hospital for the attention they are showing me and the dedication with which they carry out their service among the sick,” he said.
Asthmatic respiratory crisis indicates the pope struggled to maintain a sufficient oxygen level when breathing on his own, according to medical experts.
The Vatican on Saturday said the pope, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, remained in critical condition.
The pope has been hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14 following a bout with bronchitis.
He was diagnosed with pneumonia on Tuesday, according to the Vatican.
Apart from his medical team and security, the pope has not had visitors apart from his closest aides, sources said.
ABC News’ Ivan Pereira and Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets of northern Gaza on Tuesday in a rare protest against Hamas, with marchers calling for the terror group to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel and give up control of the strip to end the war.
Videos from the northern city of Beit Lahiya — which has been devastated by a heavy Israeli bombardment and intense fighting by between Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces over the past 17 months — showed hundreds gathered on the streets, some chanting anti-Hamas slogans. Shouts of “Hamas out” could be heard in videos posted to social media.
The gathering followed an appeal for a demonstration spread on social media channels. ABC News is unable to verify its origin or the identity of the original poster.
Some marchers held signs displaying demands, including “Enough displacement and homelessness,” “Stop the war” and “We refuse to die,” as seen in videos circulating on social media.
Videos filmed by a local journalist and verified by ABC News showed Gazans chanting, “We want to live, we want to live,” in Arabic as a man addressed the assembled crowd.
“We are here today to deliver a message to the entire nation,” he said. “We are a peaceful people, a peaceful people, a peaceful people. We want to live. This is the least of life’s demands.”
“We want to live,” he continued. “Deliver it to the entire nation and the leadership. We want to live. People don’t have money to move — meaning to move their things when evacuating — there is no empty space in Gaza. Where will we go?”
The Associated Press reported that some videos appeared to show Hamas members dispersing the crowd.
A call across the Gaza Strip for more protests circulated on social media on Wednesday. In a video statement on Wednesday, speaking in Hebrew, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz addressed the protests.
“The IDF will soon operate forcefully in additional areas in Gaza and you will be required to evacuate and lose more and more territory,” Katz said in the statement directed at residents of Gaza. “The plans are already prepared and approved. Learn from the residents of Beit Lahia: Demand the removal of Hamas from Gaza and the immediate release of all Israeli hostages — this is the only way to stop the war.”
Tuesday’s protests came amid Israel’s renewed offensive on the devastated strip, which began last week and ended a two-month ceasefire that began in January.
Israel is demanding the immediate release of all remaining hostages — consisting of 59 people, 24 of whom are still believed to be alive — taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack into Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign would resume with “full force,” adding that further “negotiations will only be done under fire.” Israel intends to fully dismantle Hamas and remove it from power in Gaza, Netanyahu has said.
As of Tuesday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 792 people had been killed and 1,663 others injured since the resumption of Israeli military action last week.
The latest casualties bring the total death toll in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, to 50,144, with another 113,704 wounded, the ministry said.
Around 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel during the Hamas attack, with 251 people taken back into Gaza as captives, according to the Israeli government.
(LONDON and ROME) — The pope rested peacefully overnight after his prognosis was “lifted” on Monday as he begins his 26th straight day in the hospital, the Vatican said.
Vatican sources told ABC News that Francis’ prognosis being lifted means he’s no longer in imminent danger, but the clinical picture still remains complex.
The 88-year-old pontiff will continue “for additional days, the pharmacological medical therapy in a hospital environment” due to the “complexity of the clinical picture and the significant infectious picture presented at hospitalization,” the Vatican said.
“The improvements recorded in previous days have further consolidated, as confirmed by both blood tests and clinical objectivity and the good response to pharmacological therapy. For these reasons, the doctors decided to lift the prognosis,” the Holy See, the Vatican’s press office, said in a statement Monday.
The pope will move back to noninvasive mechanical ventilation and will continue an antibiotic treatment, the Vatican sources said.
Francis’ doctors said there are positive signs of the pontiff’s recovery, but caution remains, according to the Vatican sources.
Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
Thursday will mark the 12th anniversary of when Pope Francis was voted to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, who previously resigned.
ABC News’ Megan Forrester contributed to this report.
