Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister
Antonio Tajani said Sunday that he has obtained Israeli
"guarantees" in relation to Food for Gaza, an initiative Italy
is spearheading to get food aid to Palestinian civilians, after
meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz in Rome.
Tajani told reporters that Katz described Food for Gaza as a
"model" and said the meeting at the foreign ministry, which also
involved representatives of UN food agencies FAO and WFP, was
"very positive".
"In order to get aid in without it ending up in the hands of
Hamas, Israel's authorization and willingness (to cooperate) is
needed," Tajani said.
"The response I received was absolutely positive.
"Katz guaranteed me support for our initiative, so much so that
he accepted my proposal to have a representative of the Israeli
embassy participate in the working group for it".
He added that Italy was investing 20 million euros in aid to
Palestinian civilians.
Tajani reiterated Italy's opposition to Israeli staging an
assault on Rafah, where around one million Palestinians have
taken refuge since the start of the conflict sparked by Hamas's
horrific October 7 attacks.
"We are absolutely not in favour of an attack on Rafah but, at
the same time, we are for the immediate release of the hostages
(held by Hamas) without any conditions," he said.
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