AMMAN — Italy has sent food supplies and health equipment for the Gazan population aboard a humanitarian flight that landed in Jordan, according to a statement from the Italian Embassy on Thursday, as part of "Food for Gaza" initiative to help the civilians there. 

 

The 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 that 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 Organisation (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, the statement said. Italy said in May it would allocate €30 million ($32.8 million) in the Food for Gaza plan, as it resumed funding for the United Nations' Palestinian relief organisation UNRWA. The 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.