Last year, Qatar and Italy cooperated in providing life-saving medical treatment to Palestinians evacuated from the Gaza Strip.
Italy is set to participate in the resumption of the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) at the Rafah Crossing in early February, months since Israeli occupation forces invaded, destroyed and occupied the crossing in the Gaza Strip.
Italian authorities announced their participation in a press release on Tuesday, noting they will facilitate the movement of 200 sick and injured Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip every day.
Italy said it would be in charge “of the transport of the entire contingent through the Defense Inter-Forces Summit Operations Command”.
“It is a mission of great importance, also symbolic,” Antonio Tajani, Italy’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, said in the press release. “We are participating with 7 Carabinieri soon to be sent to the area.”
The vital Egypt-Gaza crossing served as the main exit and entry point for urgent medical evacuations of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in light of Israel’s genocide.
Israeli occupation forces then invaded and destroyed the crossing from the Palestinian side on May 6, marking the beginning of their brutal attacks on the south of the Gaza Strip.
Launched in 2005, EUBAM Rafah provided a third-party presence at the Rafah Crossing in line with the Agreement on Movement and Access between Palestine and Israel. The duration of EUBAM’s Rafah mandate is annually renewed.
Italy’s Carabinieri will be joining the European Gendarmerie Force along with soldiers from the Spanish Guardia Civil and the French Gendarmerie.
“It is very important to have a European commitment, as we have always demanded, and also a commitment of our Carabinieri, who were present earlier in Jericho for the training of the Palestinian National Authority police,” Tajani noted.
Tajani stressed the mission is “a step towards the second phase” of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, which Qatar, Egypt and the United States mediated, announced on January 15.
The ceasefire came after 15 months of Israel’s genocide that reduced the Gaza Strip to rubble, killing at least 47,354 Palestinians. The actual figure is believed to be 40 percent higher, with thousands missing and still trapped under the rubble.
The ceasefire deal is split into three phases, each lasting 42 days that aim to completely end the war in the Gaza Strip and rebuild the blockaded territory. The re-opening of the Rafah Crossing for medical evacuations is among the key points of the first phase.
Qatar and Italy’s cooperation
Meanwhile, last year, Qatar and Italy cooperated in providing life-saving medical treatment to Palestinians evacuated from the Gaza Strip.
Italian Navy ship “Vulcano” had received dozens of wounded Palestinians with the help of Qatari armed forces and medics at Egypt’s El Arish Port.
The ship had sailed on January 30, 2024 from Egypt, carrying 60 Palestinians including 18 children and 42 members of their families to receive treatment at Italy’s hospitals.