Italy sends humanitarian aid for Gaza 

Italy has sent food supplies and health equipment for the Palestinians in Gaza, Reuters has reported. The humanitarian flight landed in Jordan as part of Rome’s “Food for Gaza” initiative.

The aid includes over 60 tonnes of food, hygiene kits and sanitary equipment, along with 150 tents. The flight, which departed from the southern city of Brindisi, landed in Amman from where the aid will be delivered to Gaza.

“With this operation we give a tangible demonstration of the attention that the Italian government is dedicating to the humanitarian situation in the Strip,” said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. He added that Italy is committed “to do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza.”

The Food for Gaza initiative is led by Italy together with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Italy said in May that it would allocate €30 million ($32.8m) to the initiative, as it resumed funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

On Wednesday, the US military announced that its mission to install and operate a temporary, floating pier off the coast of Gaza was complete, formally ending an effort to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the enclave.

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