Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani held a video conference at the Crisis Unit of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Italian health workers operating in the Gaza Strip. The meeting was attended by Italian doctors and health professionals from Médecins Sans Frontières, Emergency, and UN agencies who are providing daily assistance in Gaza. Also present via video link were the President of the National Federation of the Orders of Doctors and Dentists, as well as the diplomatic offices in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
During the meeting, the Italian health workers presented a dramatic picture of the local situation, highlighting severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicines, attacks on hospital infrastructure, and the inefficiency of the aid distribution system. All those present urgently called on the Italian government to exert pressure so that the Israeli side halts military operations and opens the border crossings, allowing the entry of food and medical supplies.
In the centres where Italian staff are working, up to 450 patients are treated daily for chronic illnesses, basic diseases, and severe malnutrition. The doctors reported that there are around 20,000 serious cases of cancer in Gaza, for which there is a lack of equipment and medicines. In addition, there is a shortage of neonatal ventilators, while polio vaccinations have been halted since April.
According to the Italian medical workers, more than 600 lorries a day would be needed to meet the needs of the local population, and securing their entry requires a ceasefire agreement that includes the reopening of the border crossings.
Minister Tajani expressed Italy’s solidarity with the health workers who, despite great personal sacrifice and risk, continue to provide essential medical services in Gaza. He recalled Italy’s humanitarian commitment through the “Food for Gaza” initiative and the particular focus on healthcare issues. To date, over 133 Palestinian children have been evacuated from Gaza to receive treatment in Italian hospitals. In total, more than 700 people — including Italian citizens, Italian-Palestinians, residence permit holders and their immediate family members — have been able to leave the Strip. This achievement has been made possible through the cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, and Civil Protection, a partnership that continues today and places Italy first among Western countries for the number of medical evacuations carried out.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Minister committed to making further representations to the Israeli government to facilitate the entry of aid and humanitarian evacuations. In the coming days, a group of around 15 Palestinian civilians who are sick or wounded, along with their companions (totalling around 80 people), is expected to arrive in Italy for treatment in Italian hospitals. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also allocate a further EUR 5 million to the WHO and 5 EUR million to UNICEF.
Finally, it was agreed to maintain regular coordination with the Italian health workers in Gaza to address future needs: “We must immediately establish a permanent healthcare cooperation network between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, health workers in Gaza, and Italian healthcare institutions, so that we are ready to respond swiftly to the appeals for help coming from Gaza”.
