by InTrieste
Three Italian Air Force flights carrying 31 Palestinian children in urgent need of medical care arrived in Italy overnight, part of a humanitarian airlift organized by the Italian government in coordination with the World Health Organization and European Union authorities.
The children, many suffering from severe congenital illnesses, war-related injuries, amputations and other life-threatening conditions, were flown from Gaza along with 83 accompanying relatives. Italian officials said the operation marked the country’s 14th medical evacuation from the territory since January and was the largest such mission to date.
The latest arrivals bring the total number of Palestinian children evacuated to Italy for treatment this year to 180, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Six of the children landed Wednesday night at Ciampino Airport in Rome, where they were met by Antonio Tajani, Italy’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and Salameh Ashour, the imam of the Palestinian community in Lazio.
“It is with deep emotion that I welcome this evening another group of Palestinian children evacuated from the Strip who will be treated in our country,” Mr. Tajani told reporters. “We will continue to support the civilian population of Gaza and work towards peace.”
Ambulances were waiting on the tarmac to take the patients to hospitals across Italy. Three were admitted to the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome, two to Santobono Hospital in Naples, and one to the Azienda Ospedaliera in Perugia.
The evacuation comes as Italy, along with other European nations, has signed an appeal urging Israel to allow full humanitarian access to Gaza, where health officials say hospitals and clinics remain critically short of medicine, equipment and personnel.
