Reports in the European and the international press say that Italy will be sending a hospital ship to the southern Gaza coast or to North Sinai, in the event Egypt allows it, in order to aid the humanitarian situation in the Strip and treat the wounded.
According to the report, the statement came from the Italian Defense Ministry, which has agreed to send a naval ship to serve as a seaborne hospital. According to reports, the ship will include over 170 medical staff, independent water desalination capabilities, and the capacity to treat hundreds and even thousands of wounded and sick patients.
The ship is set to leave Italy to the region today or tomorrow, according to the Italian Defense Minister. The move appears to be coordinated with the Israeli Prime Minister and other senior officials. Reports indicate that Israel has conducted talks with a number of European and Middle Eastern countries in an attempt to get them to send similar ships or other forms of mobile hospitals, in order to evacuate stationary hospitals in the Gaza Strip and increase Israeli freedom of action.