Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani launched from Rome an initiative for Gaza relief (Anatolia)
Yesterday, Monday, Italy and United Nations organizations launched the “Food for Gaza” initiative with the aim of better coordination of humanitarian aid directed to the Strip, which has been subjected to Israeli aggression since last October 7, which led to the death of more than 31,000 martyrs, in addition to the displacement and starvation of the population. .
To coordinate the “Food for Gaza” initiative, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani met in Rome with the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Qu Dongyu, the Executive Director of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, and Javier Castellanos, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross Societies. And the Red Crescent.
After the Quartet meeting, Tajani said that the goal is “to launch an initiative that will enable us to do more in response to the tragic humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
He stated that they decided to establish a technical coordination office open to all actors who wish to contribute.
Tajani indicated that they will inform the G7 countries, members of the European Union, Israel, Palestine, and Hamas through the Arab countries of their initiatives.
Referring to the aid being dropped from the air into Gaza, Tajani said: “There is a very large number of civilian deaths. We are trying to help the Palestinians. The aid being dropped from the air into Gaza is not enough.”
He explained that the delivery of this assistance should take place through the humanitarian corridor expected to be established by the European Union and the United States from Cyprus, which is about 370 kilometers from Gaza.
He also said, "It is necessary to increase the entry of trucks from the Rafah crossing. Today, there are a few dozen trucks passing through, but this is certainly not enough."
Time is running out
For his part, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization Qu Dongyu expressed his thanks to the Italian minister for this initiative to achieve food security in Gaza.
“We must do everything we can to help the civilian population of Gaza who are suffering but preparing to celebrate Ramadan,” he said.
Zhou said that children in Gaza in particular face serious difficulties in accessing food and water.
In the same context, the Director of the World Food Program warned that “time is running out” to avoid famine in the northern Gaza Strip.
“Time is running out,” Cindy McCain said. “The hungry people of Gaza can no longer wait.”
Participants in the meeting urged Israel to reopen the land crossings leading to the Gaza Strip and allow the sending of larger amounts of humanitarian aid.
McCain continued: “We need to bring 300 trucks of food aid daily into Gaza.”
Source: Agencies