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Pope Francis's last gift: Popemobile to become health clinic for Gaza
Caritas is transforming the vehicle into a mobile health station by equipping it with medical devices for examination and treatment of children.
According to Caritas, once safe access to Gaza becomes possible, the wheeled clinic, staffed with physicians and medical personnel, will be deployed to communities without functioning healthcare facilities.
The Pope specifically requested that the vehicle serve injured and malnourished children in the conflict-ravaged Palestinian territory.
The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has killed over 15,000 children and displaced nearly one million people since the beginning in October 2023, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef). The UN children's agency reports that Israel has prevented humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza for more than two months, as essential supplies, including food, clean water, and medicine, reach dangerously low levels.
During his papacy, Pope Francis frequently made passionate statements on the Gaza war, describing the humanitarian conditions in the territory as 'shameful'. In his last Easter Sunday address, he called for all parties to implement a ceasefire and highlighted the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis.
During 18 months of war, Pope Francis had been making nightly calls to the Holy Family Church – Gaza's only Catholic church – to check on their well-being.
Pope Francis dies after long illness
Francis, the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, died Easter Monday at age 88 after suffering a stroke while recovering at home from pneumonia. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, held the position of the 266th pontiff of the Catholic Church. During his leadership, Pope Francis publicly supported LGBTQIA+ individuals' rights, stressed the importance of tackling climate change, addressed the worldwide refugee situation, and urged the Church to ask for forgiveness for its involvement in the 'scourge' of child sexual abuse.
Conclave to elect new pope to begin May 7
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Gaza's other crisis—not enough clean drinking water
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Israel also turned a water pipeline back on from Israel to northern Gaza earlier this month. Residents and humanitarian workers say a lot more needs to be done faster to address the crisis. The enclave relied on three sources of water before the war: groundwater wells, seawater desalination plants and water pipelines from Israel. All have been severely affected by the war, which began after Hamas's deadly attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel has imposed restrictions on imports of fuel, spare parts and other supplies. Three water pipelines from Israel, which used to supply around 13% of Gaza's water before the war, have worked only sporadically since the start of the war because of frequent damage. The wells and desalination plants have either been damaged, lack spare parts and chemicals to treat the water or are located in areas where the Israeli military has told people to leave. 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