Food for Gaza. Italy’s Humanitarian Commitment

Foreign Minister Tajani launched the "Food for Gaza" initiative on March 11, 2024, in a meeting in Rome with Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), and Xavier Castellanos, Deputy Secretary General of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).

The Food for Gaza initiative has the full support of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, whose Foreign Ministers have identified it as a model to follow.

In recent months, the Council of Ministers extended the state of emergency for interventions in the Gaza Strip, increasing the financial contributions dedicated to the Food for Gaza project alone to approximately €40 million. This was also due to the new €10 million allocation to WHO and UNICEF to support hospitals, procure medicines, and support emergency medical and healthcare activities in the Gaza Strip.

The initiative consists of three components:

• Humanitarian aid
• Assistance and medical care
• Educational programs

HUMANITARIAN AID

Thanks to the Food for Gaza initiative, Italy has delivered approximately 2,300 tons of food, medical, and basic relief supplies to the Gaza Strip. The aid has been channelled through the World Food Program and the International Red Cross, authoritative and impartial institutions trusted by both sides.

Among the largest operations carried out to date, the WFP has distributed 2,000 tons of flour. Four convoys departed from Jordan over a period of approximately three weeks between July and August, with the aim of assisting approximately one million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Furthermore, with the crucial collaboration of the Ministry of Defence, airdrops were carried out to drop approximately 100 tons of food directly into Gaza.

As part of the humanitarian aid, 15 special trucks were delivered to WFP in February 2025, later modified to serve as "forklifts" for the distribution of aid within the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, 15 tons of humanitarian aid, including basic necessities, such as blankets and hygiene supplies, were delivered along with the vehicles, intended to assist approximately 1,200 people.

In August 2025, 60 tons of nutrient-dense animal feed were also released into Gaza. This initiative was carried out in collaboration with the FAO. The first distribution cycle involves the provision of two bags (100 kg) to each shepherd with at least one head of cattle; the goal is to reach 200 verified beneficiaries. 3,500 veterinary kits for animal care are also expected to enter Gaza.

ASSISTANCE AND MEDICAL CARE

Italy has prioritized the assistance to sick Palestinian children. Health operations have so far enabled 181 children from Gaza to be admitted to health facilities in Italy, along with their families, for a total of 577 people.

The latest group of Palestinian patients arrived in Italy from Gaza on three humanitarian flights on 13 August. That was the 14th health operation conducted since January 2024, the largest supported to date. The operation involved 31 minors, all suffering from severe congenital diseases or significant wounds and amputations, along with 86 of their caregivers - 117 people in total.

Those operations were made possible thanks to the coordination of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, with the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Department of Civil Protection, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the European Civil Protection Mechanism. The intense diplomatic effort that enabled these operations to be carried out involved the Italian Embassies in Tel Aviv and Cairo and the Consulate General in Jerusalem.

The hospitals that have given their availability are the Bambin Gesù Children's Hospital in Rome, the Santobono Hospital in Naples, the Perugia Hospital, the Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital in Bergamo, the ASST Niguarda and the "Vittore Buzzi" Children's Hospital in Milan, the Spedali Civili in Brescia, the University Hospitals of Padua and Verona, the Sant'Orsola Hospital in Bologna, the Gaslini Institute in Genoa, the Apuan Children's Hospital in Massa, the Meyer Hospital in Florence and the Cisanello Hospital in Pisa. In the past, other healthcare facilities had also welcome Palestinian patients, including the Regina Margherita Hospital in Turin, the IRCCS San Raffaele, the National Cancer Institute and the University Hospital in Milan, the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza, the Maggiore Hospital in Bologna, the University Hospital in Modena, the Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, and the Hospital in Catania.

Italy thus reaffirms its position as the first Western country - more than all the other European countries as a whole- to have organized the transfer of patients from the Gaza Strip to specialized hospitals.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS