Before his death, Pope Francis donated the Papamóvil he used during his visit to Bethlehem in May 2014, to be converted into a mobile clinic aimed at attending the children of the Gaza Strip, one of the populations most affected by the war and the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
The initiative was personally entrusted by the Argentine pontiff to Cáritas Jerusalem in the last months of his life to respond to the very serious humanitarian emergency in Gaza, where almost one million children live displaced, without access to food, drinking water or basic medical care, in the middle of the conflict with Israel.
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However, due to the restrictions on the border, which have been closed for a year, when the passage of Rafah was sealed, border with Egypt, the vehicle that was reconditioned and equipped with essential medical instruments, has not yet been able to enter this area punished by hunger and bombing.
“We are still working in coordination with government agencies to get the Papamóvil to enter Gaza. But the borders are still closed and, in my opinion, it will not be possible in the near future,” Harout Bedrossiam confirms, Press Manager of Cáritas Jerusalem.
Bedrossiam indicates that while some humanitarian aid is entering, “it is controlled by military distribution points.” He regrets that “it is not effective” because “the situation is very chaotic.”
One of the main problems that Caritas about the field faces is the shortage of permits granted by the Israel Government to be able to enter Gaza: “Obtaining permits to enter Gaza from Israel is a very arduous and long process. From Egypt it is a little easier, but as I have already said, all borders are currently closed.”
Humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza is entering drops, not without serious problems that would even have caused a bloodshed this Sunday, according to the authorities of the Strip.
According to its version, endorsed by doctors without borders and the red crescent, Israeli soldiers fired in a help distribution center of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and at least 31 people died.
In any case, the GHF has denied this information and assured that the aid was distributed without incident.
Victoria Cardiel
Victoria Cardiel is a journalist specialized in social and religious information issues. Since 2013, he has covered all the news of the Vatican for various media, such as the Spanish news agency Europa Press, or the weekly of the Archdiocese of Madrid, Alfa and Omega.