The week in photos: April 4-10, 2026

MANILA, Philippines – Pope Leo urged global leaders in his Easter message on April 5 to end the conflicts raging across the world and abandon any schemes for power, conquest, or domination. The Pope lamented in a special message to the thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square that people “are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent.”

“Let those who have weapons lay them down!” the first US Pope exhorted. “Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!”

On April 6, US President Donald Trump threatened “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran did not make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by April 7. Less than two hours before his deadline, Trump said that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

Responding to a US proposal through mediator Pakistan, Tehran rejected a ceasefire and said a permanent end to the war was necessary. The Iranian response consisted of 10 clauses, including an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting of sanctions, and reconstruction, the official IRNA news agency reported.

On April 9, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is seeking direct talks with Beirut, a day after the worst bombardment of the war killed more than 300 people in Lebanon and placed Trump’s US-Iran ceasefire in jeopardy.

Netanyahu, whose government rebuffed an offer for direct talks with Lebanon in March, said in a statement he had given instructions to start peace talks as soon as possible, which would include disarming Iran-aligned armed group Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, China and Russia, on April 7, vetoed a United Nations resolution encouraging states to coordinate efforts to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the measure biased against Iran, while Washington’s ambassador to the world body called on “responsible nations” to join the US in securing the waterway.

Catch more stories in these photos from the week that was:

Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder fall during their 12-round heavyweight bout at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, on April 4, 2026. PHOTO BY PETER CZIBORRA/ACTION IMAGES VIA REUTERS

A woman places a teddy bear at a makeshift memorial for a 7-month-old girl who was shot dead in suspected gang-related gunfire, according to New York City officials, before a vigil in New York City, on April 4, 2026. PHOTO BY EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERS

A demonstrator wears a mask depicting US President Donald Trump while holding a puppet of a baby with a mask depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an anti-war protest calling for an end to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 4, 2026. PHOTO BY FLORION GOGA/REUTERS

Pope Leo XIV holds a candle as he arrives to lead the Easter Vigil in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on April 4, 2026. PHOTO BY GUGLIELMO MANGLAPANE/REUTERS

Catholic devotees hold the traditional ‘Salubong’ to celebrate the joyful reunion of the Risen Christ and His mother, Mary, at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026. PHOTO BY ANGIE DE SILVA/RAPPLER

Jewish worshippers hold a priestly blessing without the usual crowds in attendance, following restrictions on gathering in large groups, on the Jewish holiday of Passover, at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, on April 5, 2026. PHOTO BY RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS

A displaced Palestinian woman stands on a balcony inside a building damaged during the war at Al-Aqsa University, now used as a shelter, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on April 5, 2026. PHOTO BY HASEEB ALWAZEER/REUTERS

Members of Chile’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) collect samples to determine the cause of death of a juvenile humpback whale stranded on Cucao beach, Chiloe Island, Chile, on April 5, 2026. PHOTO BY AMILIX FORNEROD/REUTERS

A view of the Moon taken by an Artemis II crew member through the window of the Orion spacecraft on day five of the mission, on April 6, 2026. NASA HANDOUT PHOTO VIA REUTERS

Motorists refuel their vehicles at a gasoline station as concerns grow over fuel supply amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 6, 2026. PHOTO BY MOHAMMAD PONIR HOSSAIN/REUTERS

US President Donald Trump takes questions as he speaks during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 6, 2026. PHOTO BY EVAN VUCCI/REUTERS

People prepare a body for burial during the funeral of Lena Ostrovsky Gershovitz, Vladimir Gershovitz, and their son Dimitri Gershovitz, whose bodies were recovered from the wreckage of a residential building after it was struck by an Iranian missile, in Haifa, Israel, on April 7, 2026. PHOTO BY SHIR TOREM/REUTERS

People shout slogans as they gather after a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war was announced, in Tehran, Iran, on April 8, 2026. PHOTO BY MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA VIA REUTERS

Smoke rises as people gather and rescuers work at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. PHOTO BY REUTERS

Members of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan stage a protest along Kalaw Ave. in Manila to condemn the US-Israel aggression against Iran, on Araw ng Kagitingan or Valor Day, April 9, 2026. PHOTO BY RAPPLER

An Indigenous Pataxo man holds a baby as the National Congress Palace stands in the background at the end of a march titled ‘Lula, demarcate’ during the Acampamento Terra Livre (Free Land) camp, as indigenous people protest to demand the demarcation of indigenous lands and defend constitutional and cultural rights, in Brasilia, Brazil, on April 9, 2026. PHOTO BY JORGE SILVA/REUTERS

A Royal Collection Trust staff member poses with items in the British tailoring section of ‘Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style,’ an exhibition of clothing and outfits marking the centenary of the late queen’s birth, in The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, London, Britain, on April 9, 2026. PHOTO BY TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS

An umbrella with K-pop boy band BTS member Jimin’s image as fans wait in line to enter the concert venue, ahead of the band’s first world‑tour concert ‘ARIRANG’ in more than three years, at Goyang stadium in Goyang, South Korea, April 9, 2026. PHOTO BY KIM SOO-HYEON/REUTERS

A photographer displays and sells hundreds of printed graduation photographs outside an elementary school in Cebu City on April 10, 2026, as families stop and search for familiar faces among the rows. Once a common sight during graduation season, the practice is slowly fading because most photos today are taken, shared, and kept on mobile phones, leaving small printing businesses struggling to keep up. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE HERNANDEZ/RAPPLER

A man rides his motorbike past a billboard installed alongside a road as Pakistan prepares to host the US and Iran for peace talks, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 10, 2026. PHOTO BY WASEEM KHAN/REUTERS

– with reports from Reuters/Rappler.com