In recent days, additional groups of sick Palestinian children have been transferred from Gaza to Italy, evacuated from healthcare facilities in Gaza that could no longer provide them with adequate care. The operations were completed on 19 and 20 March.
The first transfer, organised in coordination with Israeli authorities as part of collaboration with the WHO, involved the evacuation of 10 patients and their family members, for a total of 27 people. The departure from Gaza took place on 19 March via the Kerem Shalom crossing, followed by a transfer to Ramon (Eilat) managed by the WHO and Israeli authorities. From there, a Boeing KC-767 of the Italian Air Force transported the patients to Italy.
The second operation, carried out today, saw the departure of 8 patients and their family members from Cairo, totalling 20 people. These patients, evacuated from Gaza in recent days with the support of the WHO, had been receiving treatment at the Umberto I Italian Hospital in Egypt. Their transfer to Italy was carried out with a flight provided by the Italian Guardia di Finanza.
Both evacuation operations were coordinated by the Italian Civil Protection Department (which also manages the subsequent allocation of patients to Italian hospitals) together with the Crisis Unit of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Italian Joint Operations Command of the Ministry of Defence.
With these two humanitarian operations, Italy confirms its position as the fourth country in the world—and the first among Western nations—to have organised the evacuation and transfer of Palestinian children from the Gaza Strip to specialised hospitals. To date, 107 minors and their families (a total of 286 people) have received treatment in Italian medical facilities.
