Tel Aviv: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has assured a delegation of families of victims and abducted persons that she is committed to the immediate release of hostages from Hamas custody.
The Prime Minister met the delegation at the Presidential Palace in Rome on Tuesday. The families arrived in Rome on Tuesday morning as part of a series of meetings being organized by the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Anti-Semitism in collaboration with the Israeli Foreign Ministry. During the meeting, the Prime Minister heard the stories of family members and “expressed deep concern over the brutality adopted by Hamas to target helpless civilians”.
The families he met also told him “how the terrorists infiltrated the houses, killing everyone. Even children, women and elderly were not spared”. The Italian Prime Minister reiterated the Italian Government’s solidarity and closeness to Israel.
He reaffirmed his commitment to the immediate release of those held hostage in Gaza. Ian Regev, the father of Maya and Itay, who was abducted from a party in Kibbutz Reim in southern Israel on October 7 and taken hostage, said: “I thought European countries would turn a blind eye. (But) after listening to Prime Minister Meloni, I know that we have the full support of Italy.”
He further said that the Italian Prime Minister has filled him with assurance and hope that the abducted family members will return home safely. The delegation was also accompanied by Israel’s Ambassador to Italy, Alon Bar, and the President of the Italian Jewish Community Federation, Noemi De Segni.
