Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, held telephone conversations with Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Ysrael Katz and Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riad Maliki.
“Today I presented to my Israeli and Palestinian colleagues the ‘Food for Gaza’ initiative launched by Italy together with FAO, WFP and the International Federation of Red Cross-Red Crescent Societies. The initiative is aimed at alleviating the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip by joining forces to address the extremely serious humanitarian crisis”, said Deputy Prime Minister Tajani, adding that “the Italian Government intends to make this initiative a top priority. I will discuss the matter as early as next Monday in Brussels on the occasion of the Foreign Affairs Council and then I will involve the G7 partners at the ministerial meeting in Capri. Joining forces to help civilians is not a slogan but a moral obligation, we must act quickly”.
The “Food for Gaza” initiative aims to create a partnership with the main organisations active on the ground, and with national and international actors by setting up a technical table, focusing above all on the fundamental needs of the civilian population: food, health, and protection. Italy will make its expertise available, starting with the food security, health and demining sectors.
In his conversation with Ysrael Katz, Tajani emphasised that “the Italian Government sees a pause in hostilities as essential to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza. We strongly condemn Hamas terrorism and support Israel’s right to defend itself. We insist that the civilian population must always be protected during military actions”.
In his telephone conversation with his Palestinian counterpart, Minister Maliki, Tajani pointed out that “the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza is unacceptable. Our evacuation operations have enabled dozens of Palestinian children to be treated in the best hospitals in Italy. We intend to continue to follow this course of action to alleviate the suffering of the population”.