Popemobile to become health clinic for Gaza children

One of Francis's popemobiles, which the late pontiff used to greet thousands of people, will be turned into a mobile health clinic to help the children of Gaza.

Following a request by Pope Francis, the vehicle used during his visit to Bethlehem in 2014 is being refitted with everything needed for frontline care in a war zone, charity organisation Caritas, which is overseeing the project, said.

"There'll be rapid tests, suture kits, syringes, oxygen supplies, vaccines and a small fridge for storing medicines," it explained in a statement.

The Vatican said it was the pope's "final wish for the children of Gaza" before he died last month. The vehicle is currently in Bethlehem, and will enter Gaza if and when Israel opens a humanitarian corridor.

The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 15,000 children and displaced nearly one million since it erupted in October 2023, Unicef reports.

Israel has blocked humanitarian aid from entering the Strip for more than two months, which has left "families struggling to survive" as food, clean water and medicines reach critically low levels, the UN agency for children said.

For now, Caritas will have to wait until Israel reopens the aid corridor - but when that happens, they say they will be ready.

"With the vehicle, we will be able to reach children who today have no access to health care – children who are injured and malnourished," Peter Brune, Secretary General of Caritas Sweden, said in a statement.

A team of doctors will run the mobile clinic, which will have the capabilities to examine and treat patients, and there will be a dedicated driver. Some details are still being finalised, like how to make the vehicle safe from potential blasts, Mr Brune told the BBC.

"It's not just a vehicle, it's a message that the world has not forgotten about the children in Gaza," he said.

Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis made many impassioned remarks on the war in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Strip "shamefull". During his final speech on Easter Sunday, he urged all "warring parties" to agree to a ceasefire and spoke of the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis.

During 18 months of war, he reportedly called parishioners in Gaza nightly to check on their wellbeing, and suggested that the international community should examine whether Israel's military offensive in Gaza should be classed as genocide – an allegation Israel has vehemently denied.

The popemobile is one of a number of specially converted vehicles allowing the pontiff to greet huge crowds of well-wishers during official visits. He was able to sit or stand while it rolled along, flanked by security agents, and its design allowed those gathered to have a clear view of the Pope.

Popemobiles in the past were bullet-proof after an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981, but Francis told Spanish media in 2014 that he didn't like the glass "sardine can" design that separated him from people.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Hamas is still holding 59 hostages.

Israel's military campaign has killed at least 52,243 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

On Monday, Israel's security cabinet reportedly approved, in principle, a plan to resume deliveries and distribution of humanitarian aid through private companies, but the UN and other aid agencies said the proposal would be a breach of basic humanitarian principles and that they will not co-operate.