Italy sends humanitarian flight with aid for Gaza population

Rome: Italy has sent food supplies and health equipment for the Gaza population aboard a humanitarian flight that landed in Jordan, a statement said on Thursday, as part of Rome’s “Food for Gaza” initiative to help civilians there.

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, has landed in the Jordan capital of Amman from where the materials 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,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said.

He added Italy was 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 Organization (FAO), the World Food programme (WFP) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

On Wednesday, the U.S. 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 bring humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

Italy said in May it would allocate 30 million euros ($32.8 million) in the Food for Gaza plan, as it resumed funding for the United Nations’ Palestinian relief organisation UNRWA.

UNRWA faced criticism over allegations that some of its staff were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.