(Adnkronos) – Agreement by Israel an Hamas on the first stage of US president Donald Trump’s peace plan opens the door for the reconstruction Gaza and the relaunching of humanitarian aid at scale for the coastal enclave’s war-hit civilian population, Italy said on Thursday
“The peace plan is not the endgame. We need to work hard on reconstruction and on getting aid to the civilian population, welcoming the Palestinians, the children, and students,” Tajani said.
“We are also willing to do more if necessary in the future administration… Let’s take it step by step,” Tajani added.
Since Israel launched its devastating military assault on Gaza after the deadly 7 October 2023 Hamas cross-border attack, Italy has been at the forefront of efforts to aid the Palestinian enclave’s civilians, many of whom lack adequate food, medical care, shelter and sanitation.
Through its Food for Gaza initiative launched in March 2024 with Rome-based UN agencies World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Red Cross and Red Crescent and civil protection agency, Italy has delivered some 2,300 tonnes of food, medical and basic relief items to the Gaza Strip, according to a foreign ministry statement on Tuesday.
In recent months Italy has allocated some 40 million euros to the Food for Gaza scheme and a further 10 million euros to the World Health Organisation and UN children’s charity UNICEF for hospitals still operating, to procure medicines and support emergency medical care, the statement said.
Italy has also confirmed its role as the leading Western country – ahead of all other European countries – in organising the transfer of patients from Gaza to specialised hospitals. A total 196 sick and injured Palestinian children have been airlifted for treatment in healthcare facilities in Italy, together with their families: 658 people, said the statement.
Italy has also awarded more than 150 scholarships to Palestinian students in Gaza and 50 to Palestinian students in the West Bank, the statement noted.
And the foreign ministry is creating ‘university corridors’ to streamline visa procedures for Palestinian scholarship winners and is working with regional countries like Israel and Jordan on the issue of transit permits.
