Tajani wins Israeli 'guarantees' for 'Food for Gaza'

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 8 - Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Sunday that he has obtained Israeli "guarantees" in relation to Food for Gaza, an initiative Italy is spearheading to get food aid to Palestinian civilians, after meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz in Rome.
    Tajani told reporters that Katz described Food for Gaza as a "model" and said the meeting at the foreign ministry, which also involved representatives of UN food agencies FAO and WFP, was "very positive".
    "In order to get aid in without it ending up in the hands of Hamas, Israel's authorization and willingness (to cooperate) is needed," Tajani said.
    "The response I received was absolutely positive.
    "Katz guaranteed me support for our initiative, so much so that he accepted my proposal to have a representative of the Israeli embassy participate in the working group for it".
    He added that Italy was investing 20 million euros in aid to Palestinian civilians.
    Tajani reiterated Italy's opposition to Israeli staging an assault on Rafah, where around one million Palestinians have taken refuge since the start of the conflict sparked by Hamas's horrific October 7 attacks.
    "We are absolutely not in favour of an attack on Rafah but, at the same time, we are for the immediate release of the hostages (held by Hamas) without any conditions," he said. (ANSA).