The President of the Italian Red Cross Visits “Food for Gaza”

On March 11, 2024, the President of the Italian Red Cross, Rosario Valastro, participated in the “Food for Gaza,” a coordination table established at the initiative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani. The Italian government aims to promote coordinated humanitarian action to address the urgent need for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. The meeting involved organizations such as the FAO, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Valastro’s Words

“It’s an important sign of solidarity from Italy to those in the Gaza Strip living in inhumane conditions, without power, with a severe lack of food and medical facilities. We are always in touch with the Magen David Adom, with whom we share efforts to ensure that the families of hostages regain their loved ones and that those who suffered the tragedy of October 7 in Israel find peace and justice.

We are also in constant contact with the Palestinian Red Crescent, ready to support the population suffering the consequences of a war that spares neither civilians nor healthcare personnel. Instead, there is a strong need for the international system and governments to find a concerted action to restore humanity to its rightful role as the primary actor in the international scene, without which we remain anchored to forms of exchange that hide the urgency that the future world needs, namely to bring back to the center, in every place of human action and its new design, the human being, which is made of life and not death.

For this reason, international organizations are called upon to participate with governments, with the Italian government, and with international institutions in a task that goes beyond their own history and imposes on everyone to raise their eyes upwards, to be able to look beyond the reality of destruction.

It’s not an easy task, but it comes to life from the bottom up, putting the boots of our Volunteers on the ground, respecting the true sense of humanitarian aid, which is not only to bring relief but to affirm humanity in action. That’s why – Valastro recalled – we sent 231,000 kilograms of flour to Gaza, a small but symbolic and concrete help that needs to be supported by a broader action. I thank Minister Tajani for inviting us to be part of this important humanitarian table, from which I hope new initiatives will emerge that will see us all engaged in alleviating the suffering of those affected by the conflict.”

Visiting Patients from Gaza

In the afternoon, before participating in “Food for Gaza,” the President of the Italian Red Cross, Rosario Valastro, visited some of the patients who arrived from Gaza on the evening of March 10 in Italy. These patients were transferred by the Volunteers of the Red Cross to several hospitals in our country to receive the necessary care.

Sources

• Italian Red Cross press release