Italy is sending a hospital ship to the Gaza coast, defense minister says

Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto arrives for a meeting of EU defense ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels, Belgium, on November 15, 2022. Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP

Italy is sending a navy ship equipped with a hospital to Gaza, to help treat victims of the conflict, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said on Wednesday.

The ship — called Vulcano — is leaving from an unnamed Italian port on Wednesday with 170 staff, including 30 people trained for medical emergencies, Crosetto said during a press briefing.

The minister also announced that a field hospital will brought "directly to Gaza in agreement with the Palestinians."\“We are the first to carry out a humanitarian operation in that area, and we hope that other countries will follow us,” he added