Italy's foreign minister calls for immediate Gaza cease-fire

By Giovanni Legorano

ROME (AA) — Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Sunday called for a cease-fire in Gaza in a meeting with his Israeli counterpart in Rome.

"We call for an immediate cease-fire to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid and obtain the liberation of the hostages, from which we cannot prescind, to then achieve a sustainable and prolonged cease-fire," Tajani said, according to a statement from his office.

"I reiterated that Italy has always thought, without any ambiguity, that Israel's right to defend itself after the barbaric attack of Oct. 7 could not and should not overcome the precise obligations coming from the rigorous respect of international humanitarian law," he added. "The number of civilians killed in Gaza is in no way justifiable."

He added that Italy continues to work to reach peace in Gaza and that it is firmly against an Israeli ground operation in Rafah.

According to the statement, Tajani also reaffirmed Rome’s support for a "two-state solution," with the involvement of Arab countries in determining the future of Gaza.

The Italian minister also proposed to Katz an initiative dubbed Food for Gaza, involving the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and Red Cross, aimed at delivering more essential goods to the war-torn civilians of the enclave.

Katz approved the Italian government's suggestion to have an official of the Israeli Embassy appointed to Food for Gaza's managing committee to improve coordination and the effectiveness of the initiative, which he described as a "model."

"We are extremely alarmed by the very serious situation on the ground. The initiative we launched is aimed at contributing to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza," Tajani said.

The Israeli army has announced plans to invade Rafah, where more than 1.4 million people have taken refuge from Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

Israel's intended plans for the Rafah offensive have sounded international alarm bells, with many urging restraint or cancelation of the operation.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack in early October by the Palestinian group, Hamas, killed less than 1,200 people.

Nearly 33,200 Palestinians have since been killed and almost 75,900 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities. Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.