A little over a decade ago, the Mitsubishi Converted pushed Pope Francis into the streets of Bethlehem before he was left to pick up dust. Now, in accordance with one of the last wishes of the late pontiff, the Popemobile receives 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, secretary general of the Catholic charitable Catholic Sweden.
“We call this a vehicle of hope because it transmits a message to the children of Gaza that peace is possible, there will be peace, you will have a future and that the world has not forgotten you. And then there will be the very practical dimension insofar as it will really bring medical aid to affected children. ”
Brunette and his counterpart of Caritas Jerusalem, Anton Asfar, had the idea at the end of last year. They quickly managed so that the question was asked to Pope Francis. “We received a letter from the Pope saying:” Yes, I am happy to say that I fully approve of this idea “”, said Brune.
The work quickly started to adapt to the vehicle, which had been seated in Bethlehem since the 2014 visit, with supplies such as quick tests for infections, suture kits and oxygen as well as an refrigerator for medicines.
It will be used to diagnose and treat children who do not have access to health care, strengthening the aid provided by Caritas Jerusalem, which has around 100 employees in the field in Gaza. “This is a concrete and vital intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed,” said Brune.
The announcement, made a few days before the start of the conclave to elect a new pope, echoes the deep commitment of Francis towards those taken in the cross fire of the conflict. He had long called in the end of hostilities and expressed his disapproval in the face of how war was made. “Yesterday, the children were bombed. It is cruelty, it is not war,” he said in December after an Israeli air strike killed seven children from a family. He added: “I want to say it because it touches my heart.”
For a large part of the last year and a half, Francis had made night calls to the Catholic Church of Gaza alone, offering his unwavering support to the Congregation when they clashed with the pain and the devastation of the war. “It was close to his heart,” said Brune. “Since the war broke out, 3% of Gaza Christians were killed.”
The transformed Popemobile is expected to be ready in about a week, said Brune, and talks have been launched in the hope of obtaining the authorization of Israeli officials to bring it to Gaza.
Brune described the situation on the ground as urgent. “Since March 2, no help has been left in Gaza at all. It’s horrible. A few months ago, when it was cold, the children freeze to death. Now they die from hunger to death. “
While the aid groups have warned that the blockade of Israel of food and medicine in Gaza had left civilians on the territory faced with famine, Israel said that the blockade, as well as its renewed military campaign, aims to put 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 a million in the Gaza Strip several times, adding to warnings that the humanitarian situation had reached its worst point since hostilities broke out in 2023.
The war in Gaza was launched by a surprise attack launched by Hamas in Israel on October 7, in which activists killed more than 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and took 250 hostages. Israeli officials say that 59 hostages remain in Gaza, more than half of which are dead.
Brunette called for helping to be left. “It is against all humanitarian principles and laws.”
He hoped that the transformation of Popemobile would establish a kind of precedent, opening the way to the reuse of other papal vehicles. “Maybe Gaza now, but then Ukraine in the future or in Congo or other places,” he said. “Wherever humanitarian access is refused, we want to apply the principle of saying that the Potemobile will defend the importance of leaving humanitarian aid.”
