Pope sends antibiotics to Gaza as humanitarian aid resumes

VATICAN CITY (MNTV) — Pope Leo XIV has sent 5,000 doses of antibiotics for children in Gaza, marking a renewed humanitarian effort as aid deliveries resume to the besieged enclave after two years of conflict, the Vatican said Tuesday.

The initiative, coordinated by the Office of Papal Charities, was carried out in partnership with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which helped distribute the medicines to families most in need.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, said the effort reflects the pope’s call to live the teachings of Dilexi te, his Apostolic Exhortation focused on care for the poor.

“It is necessary to act, to pay attention to those in need,” Krajewski said, emphasizing that the Church’s mission is credible only when shown through “concrete gestures of closeness and welcome.”

The Vatican noted that the delivery was made possible by the reopening of border crossings, which Pope Leo described as a “spark of hope” for the Holy Land amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The pope’s global relief efforts also continue in Ukraine, where aid coordinated by the Basilica of Saint Sophia in Romehas reached Kharkiv. Recent shipments included food, oil, hygiene items, power generators, and thermal clothing to help civilians survive the winter.

Through these humanitarian gestures, the pontiff seeks to “draw close to the suffering and pain of people exhausted by years of war,” the Vatican said.