Francis's popemobile to become a mobile clinic for children in Gaza
Just over a decade ago, the converted Mitsubishi whisked Pope Francis through the streets of Bethlehem before it was left to gather dust. Now, in keeping with one of the late pontiff's last wishes, the popemobile is being given a second life – as a mobile health clinic for children in the Gaza Strip.
In a region ravaged by more than 18 months of war, the initiative is both symbolic and practical, said Peter Brune, the secretary general of the Catholic charity Caritas Sweden.
'We call it a vehicle of hope because it conveys a message to the children of Gaza that peace is possible, there will be peace, you will have a future and the world has not forgotten about you. And then there's the very practical dimension in that it will actually deliver medical aid to affected children.'
Brune and his counterpart at Caritas Jerusalem, Anton Asfar, came up with the idea late last year. They soon arranged to have the question put to Pope Francis. 'We got a letter from the pope saying, 'Yes I'm glad to say that I fully endorse this idea',' said Brune.
Work swiftly began on fitting out the vehicle, which had been left sitting in Bethlehem since the 2014 visit, with supplies such as rapid tests for infections, suture kits and oxygen as well as a refrigerator for medication.
It will be used to diagnose and treat children who have no access to healthcare, bolstering the aid provided by Caritas Jerusalem, which has about 100 staff on the ground in Gaza. 'This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed,' said Brune.
The announcement, made days before the start of the conclave to elect a new pope, echoes Francis's deep commitment to those caught in the crossfire of the conflict. He had long called for an end to the hostilities and voiced his disapproval at how the war was being carried out. 'Yesterday children were bombed. This is cruelty, this is not war,' he said in December after an Israeli airstrike killed seven children from one family. He added: 'I want to say it because it touches my heart.'
For much of the past year and a half, Francis had made nightly calls to Gaza's only Catholic church, offering his unwavering support to the congregation as they grappled with the pain and devastation of war. 'It was close to his heart,' said Brune. 'Since the war broke out, 3% of the Christians in Gaza have been killed.'
The transformed popemobile is expected to be ready in a week or so, said Brune, and talks have been launched in the hope of obtaining permission from Israeli officials to bring it into Gaza.
Brune described the situation on the ground as urgent. 'Since 2 March, no aid has been let into Gaza at all. It's horrible. A few months ago, when it was cold, children were freezing to death. Now they're starving to death.'
While aid groups have warned that Israel's blockade of food and medicine into Gaza has left civilians in the territory facing starvation, Israel has said that the blockade, along with its renewed military campaign, is aimed at pressuring Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
Unicef said last month that the conflict had killed more than 15,000 children, injured tens of thousands of others and left nearly 1 million children repeatedly displaced in the Gaza Strip, adding to warnings that the humanitarian situation had reached its worst point since the hostilities broke out in 2023.
The war in Gaza was triggered by a surprise attack launched by Hamas into Israel on 7 October, in which militants killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 hostages. Israeli officials say 59 hostages remain in Gaza, more than half of whom are believed to be dead.
Brune called for aid to be let in. 'It's forbidden to use civilians and, even worse, children as some kind of instrument in an ongoing war between adults,' he said. 'It's against all humanitarian principles and laws.'
He hoped the popemobile's transformation would set a precedent of sorts, paving the way for other papal vehicles to be repurposed. 'Maybe Gaza now, but then Ukraine in the future or Congo or other places,' he said. 'Everywhere where humanitarian access is denied, we want to apply the principle of saying that the popemobile will stand for the importance of letting humanitarian aid come through.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'I made the sign of victory for Siwar': Mother's relief as malnourished Gaza baby evacuated to Jordan
The cry was frail but I could hear Siwar Ashour even before she was carried out of the coach. It was the cry of a voice that won't give up, of a child born in this war and who has now, for a while at least, managed to escape it. In person six-month-old Siwar is tinier than any visual image can convey. She weighs 3kg (6.6lb) but should be twice that. Her mother, Najwa, 23, smiled as she described her feelings on crossing into Jordan on Wednesday, when her daughter was evacuated from Gaza with other Palestinian children. The first thing she noticed was the quiet. "It feels like there is a truce," she told me. "We will spend our night without rockets and bombing with God's will." Siwar was also accompanied by her grandmother Reem and her father Saleh who is blind. "The first and last goal of this trip is Siwar," said Saleh. "We want to get her to a safe shore. I want to make sure she is safe and cured. She's my daughter, my own flesh and blood. And I'm so deeply worried about her." It was Reem who carried Siwar off the bus onto Jordanian soil, forming her fingers into a V sign as she came. "Until now I can't believe that I have arrived in Jordan. I saw King's Abdullah's photo at the border and I felt so happy I got off the bus and made the sign of victory…for the sake of Siwar." Back in April when the BBC first filmed Siwar at Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, her mother and doctor said she was suffering from malnutrition because the special milk formula she needed could not be found in sufficient quantity. Her body was emaciated. Najwa said then she could not breastfeed Siwar because she herself was suffering from malnutrition. Tins of milk formula were found and delivered by the Jordanian Field hospital and by private fundraisers. But with an Israeli blockade on aid, which was partially eased three weeks ago, and an escalating military offensive it was clear Siwar's condition needed more comprehensive testing and treatment. In a deal announced between King Abdullah and US President Donald Trump in February, Jordan offered to bring 2000 seriously ill children to Amman for treatment. Gaza's devastated medical system cannot cope with the level of sickness and war wounded. Since March, 57 children along with 113 family escorts have been evacuated. Sixteen children came on Wednesday, including Siwar. Cradled in her grandmother's arms, Siwar stared with her large eyes at the unfamiliar crowds of police, medical workers, and journalists gathered on the border. She was taken to an air conditioned hall where Jordanian medics handed out drinks and food to the children. There was peace and plenty. What was most obvious was the exhaustion of parents and children alike. In several months of covering these evacuations this latest was the most striking in terms of a sense of communal trauma. All of these families know what it is to be driven from one area to another by Israeli evacuation orders, or to queue for hours in the hope of finding food. If they have not experienced death in their family, they will definitely know friends or relatives who have been killed. Families are often separated by conflict as parents search for food or medical treatment. One day Najwa took Siwar to hospital and that was the last time husband Saleh was with them for two months. "I thought she would be gone for just three or four days and then come back, a simple treatment and she'd return," he recalled. "But I was shocked that it dragged on and took so long…and eventually I realised that her condition is very serious and difficult." We travelled from the border to Amman with Siwar and her family. Najwa is pregnant and fell into a deep sleep. Siwar remained awake in her grandmother's arms. On the same ambulance were two boys suffering from cancer, along with their mothers and two younger siblings. One of the siblings, a boy of four, cried constantly. He was tired and scared. After an hour we reached Amman and Siwar was transferred into the arms of a nurse and then to another ambulance. Over the next few days she will be tested and given the kind of treatment that is simply impossible under current conditions in Gaza. And her mother, father and grandmother - those who watch over her - will sleep without fear. WIth additional reporting by Alice Doyard, Suha Kawar, Mark Goddard and Malaak Hassouneh. 'Situation is dire' - BBC returns to Gaza baby left hungry by Israeli blockade 'No food when I gave birth': Malnutrition rises in Gaza as Israeli blockade enters third month Gaza now worse than hell on earth, humanitarian chief tells BBC
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bangor man sues hospital, Covenant Health over data breach
Jun. 11—A Bangor man has filed a class-action lawsuit against St. Joseph Hospital and its owner, Covenant Health, over a recent data breach he says compromised confidential patient information. In a complaint filed Monday in Penobscot County Superior Court, Michael McClain says he is suing on behalf of himself and others whose sensitive private information was impacted by a data breach in May. Covenant Health — the nonprofit owner of St. Joseph Hospital, St. Mary's Health System, St. Andre Health Care in Biddeford, and nursing homes in Lewiston and Bangor — disconnected from all of its hospitals' data systems on May 26 because of a "cyber incident" that it said was initiated by an outside group. A spokesperson for Covenant said shortly after the incident that the Catholic organization was working with outside parties to determine what happened and to get its computer systems restored. The lawsuit says Covenant and St. Joseph failed to properly secure private information that was entrusted to them. Because of the breach, access to documents systems, online patient portals and patient services were disrupted, according to the lawsuit. "Unexpected connectivity issues linked to a cyberattack on hospitals and medical facilities serves as a strong indicator that private information stored on the breaching entity's IT network was likely compromised because of the cyberattack," the complaint says. Karen Sullivan, a spokesperson for Covenant, said Wednesday that the organization is aware of the filing but does not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit alleges that Covenant failed to implement and maintain reasonable network safeguards against threats, maintain data retention policies, train staff on data security and comply with industry-standard data security practices. It also says Covenant did not warn patients about its inadequate data security practices or encrypt private information, and that the organization failed to recognize that its networks had been compromised. The lawsuit says the plaintiff's and class members' identities are at risk because of Covenant's "negligent conduct" and is "now in the hands of data thieves." "As a result of the data breach, plaintiff and class members are now at a current, imminent, and ongoing risk of fraud and identity theft. Plaintiff and class members must now and for years into the future closely monitor their medical and financial accounts to guard against identity theft," the lawsuit reads. The lawsuit claims that impacted patients have incurred financial costs to mitigate the risk of identity theft, have experienced delays in experiencing medical care, and are at a continued risk for further breaches as long as Covenant fails to undertake adequate steps to protect private information. The plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages, reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs and injunctive relief, including improvements to the system's data security systems, annual audits and long-term credit monitoring. A jury trial has been requested. The plaintiffs are being represented by Portland law firm Murray, Plumb & Murray. A reporter's calls and emails seeking comment Wednesday afternoon were not returned. Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Israeli gunfire, strikes kill 120 Palestinians in Gaza, many at aid sites
Israeli forces have killed more than 120 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, medical sources have told Al Jazeera, including dozens of hungry aid seekers, as Israel continues to relentlessly bombard the besieged territory, with the overall war death toll now surpassing a staggering 55,000 people. Gaza's Health Ministry said 57 people trying to access aid were killed and more than 363 injured by Israel since Wednesday morning. The distribution points are operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed drive in tightly Israeli-controlled zones. Israel's Foreign Ministry has described the GHF aid system as a 'dramatic success' despite mass killings and scenes of utter human desperation, triggering widespread international opprobrium. The isolated aid sites – set up in Rafah and in the Netzarim Corridor – have been branded 'human slaughterhouses' as more than 220 people have been killed while desperately trying to secure meagre food parcels for their families since GHF started operating on May 27. The Israeli army has admitted its troops fired 'warning shots' in the area of the Netzarim Corridor, where the majority of aid seekers were reported killed overnight. Gaza's Government Media Office said the Israeli military 'is deliberately creating chaos in the Gaza Strip by perpetuating a policy of starvation and deliberately targeting and killing starving people seeking food'. The United Nations also condemned the killings and has refused to supply aid via the foundation, which uses private contractors with Israeli military backup in what the UN says is a breach of humanitarian standards. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) called the aid distribution model 'a distraction from the ongoing atrocities and a waste of resources'. It reiterated that the humanitarian community in Gaza, including UNRWA, is 'ready and has the experience and expertise to reach people in need'. Israel has banned UNRWA and other legacy aid agencies with decades of experience from operating in Gaza, where a famine looms, while it maintains a punishing aid blockade. Chris Newton, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said Israel's chaotic and violence-plagued aid system is deliberately structured to keep Palestinians desperate and hungry while pushing them southward. Newton told Al Jazeera that GHF's stated aim of providing 1,750 calories worth of food per person per day is well short of the minimum standard for crisis situations. That amount of food is 'closer to the ration given in a starvation experiment run in the 1940s in the US than it is to Israel's own previous 2008 red line for the minimum calories needed to avoid malnutrition in Gaza,' said Newton. Elsewhere in Gaza on Wednesday, dozens of other people were killed by Israeli gunfire and strikes across the coastal territory. An Israeli attack in Gaza City's Tuffah neighbourhood killed at least seven people, according to local medical sources. Three Palestinians, including two children, were killed when an Israeli strike hit a home in northern Gaza's Jabalia, while in central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, three more Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone strike, which wounded several others, according to the news agency Wafa. In southern Gaza's Khan Younis, Israeli air strikes on displacement tents in the Tiberias camp killed four Palestinians, including a child, and wounded others, Wafa have borne much of the brunt of Israel's ongoing assault. Gaza's Health Ministry said the total death toll from Israel's war has risen to 55,104 since October 7, 2023 – most of them women and children. Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said al-Shifa Hospital, like many other health facilities, has been reduced in terms of its capacity to provide proper healthcare to people, let alone children. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who was at al-Shifa, said, 'Everywhere we go, this is the same scenario. 'Despite doctors' most incredible efforts, we see children being brutalised, burned … because it's a war on children.' In the meantime, Israel continues to hold some of the crew members and activists who were on board the Madleen aid vessel trying to break the Israeli siege. Israeli forces intercepted the vessel and its 12 crew members in international waters off Gaza earlier this week. While it deported four of the members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, eight others remain in detention. The group Adalah–The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel called on Israel to immediately release the remaining detained volunteers and return them either 'to the Madleen to resume their humanitarian mission to Gaza or to their countries of origin'.At least two of the detainees were placed in solitary confinement, according to their lawyers, though one – Rima Hassan – has since been returned to the main prison wing. Brazilian national Thiago Avila was placed in solitary at Ayalon Prison due to an 'ongoing hunger and thirst strike' that began this week. 'He has also been treated aggressively by prison authorities, although this has not escalated to physical assault,' Adalah said. Hassan, a French citizen and member of the European Parliament, was also temporarily placed in isolation in Neve Tirza Prison after writing 'Free Palestine' on a wall in another prison called Givon. The UN's special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has decried the arrests as 'arbitrary' and 'unlawful' and also called for the detainees' immediate release. The Israeli military says it recovered the bodies of Yair Yaakov and a second captive, whose name has not yet been released, in a joint operation in Khan Younis with the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet.
