(FILES) Pope Francis waves to the crowd, from his popemobile, as he arrives at the Manger Square before presiding over an open-air mass outside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank holy town of Bethlehem. AFP
The iconic open-sided vehicle, designed to allow the pontiff to greet crowds of well-wishers, has been transferred to Caritas Jerusalem and will head to Gaza if and when Israel opens a humanitarian corridor, as reported by AFP.
The car, a converted Mitsubishi, was used by the pope during a 2014 visit to Bethlehem and had since been on display, gathering dust and rust. It has now been repaired and refurbished as a mobile clinic.
"With the vehicle, we will be able to reach children who today have no access to healthcare -- children who are injured and malnourished," said Peter Brune, secretary general of Caritas Sweden.
Brune told AFP that Sweden's Cardinal Anders Arborelius had asked the late pope, who died on April 21 aged 88, that the spare vehicle be put to use providing essential frontline healthcare to Palestinian children.
It will be fitted with medical equipment and a fridge for medicines and be assigned a driver and a team of doctors.
"This vehicle represents the love, care and closeness shown by His Holiness for the most vulnerable, which he expressed throughout the crisis," said Anton Asfar, secretary general of Caritas Jerusalem.
Pope Francis had clear and outspoken stances in favour of numerous Arab and Islamic causes particularly his unwavering support for the just cause of the Palestinian people and his condemnation of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza and the enormous destruction and unprecedented human losses it is causing.
Francis spoke of the war in Gaza a day before he died, appealing for urgent humanitarian aid and cease-fire for the Palestinian Strip.
Paying tribute to Pope Francis, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said the the world lost "a faithful friend of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights,", adding that Francis "recognised the Palestinian state and authorised the Palestinian flag to be raised in the Vatican".
In early March, Israel blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, plunging the territory of 2.3 million people into what is believed to be the worst humanitarian crisis since the war began.
Two weeks later, Israel shattered an eight-week-long ceasefire deal in Gaza by resuming deadly bombardment, killing at least 2,600 Palestinians since then and bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,535, mostly children and women.
On Monday, Israel's security cabinet approved an expansion of military operations that would lead to what an official described as the "conquest" of the Palestinian territory.
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