PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York will soon travel to the Holy Land to meet with local religious leaders and visit various humanitarian agencies at work.

Cardinal Dolan will make the April 12-18 trip in his capacity as chair of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA).

While in the region, Cardinal Dolan will meet with various Israeli and Palestinian Christian, Jewish, and Muslim representatives. On the humanitarian side, he plans to visit the Paul VI Ephpheta Institute for the Hearing Impaired and the Aida Refugee Camp, both of which are in the West Bank; and the Home Notre Dame des Douleurs, a home for the elderly in Jerusalem.

Cardinal Dolan also hopes to meet with the families of the hostages captured by Hamas, participate in a Sabbath meal, and visit with Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups, according to a news release from the Archdiocese of New York.

The trip is also to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine. The organization, founded by Pope Pius XII in 1949, serves as CNEWA’s operating agency in the Middle East. Together, the two organization’s work through the local church to offer aid to all in need, regardless of their ethnic or religious background.