Middle East: medical and humanitarian evacuation of 14 Palestinian children by Air Force aircraft

Last weekend, Italian Air Force personnel took part in a medical and humanitarian evacuation (MEDEVAC) mission, organised by the Joint Operations Headquarters (COVI) of the Defence General Staff in conjunction with the Crisis Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and carried out on the instructions of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). This is the third flight operated using the C-130J tactical transport aircraft of the 46th^a Air Force Air Brigade, following those of the 29th January and 9th February.

On Saturday 9 March, the C-130J, coming from Pisa, took off from Pratica di Mare Airport bound for Cairo (Egypt) after embarking doctors, nurses and medical supplies from the Italian Air Force, a doctor and a nurse from the Gaslini Institute of Genoa – specialised in the transport and stabilisation of critically ill children even in difficult environments –, personnel from the MAECI Crisis Unit and a cultural mediator from the National Institute for Migration and Poverty (INMP) of the Ministry of Health.

Having arrived in the Egyptian capital in the late afternoon and completed customs procedures, in the evening the medical personnel from the Italian Air Force and Gaslini visited the most critical patients at the Italian “Umberto I” Hospital in Cairo to make the final decisions on whether or not to transfer them to Italy. The following day, a total of 45 passengers were subsequently embarked on the military aircraft: 22 patients, including 14 children, and 23 companions. Five stretchers were accommodated in the cabin, and during the flight it was necessary to stabilise one of the young patients, who required further intervention once landed in Pisa.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, who is constantly informed about the progress of the operation, stated: “Italy is doing and will continue to do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population. Once again, Defence has demonstrated professionalism, competence and great humanity. For this reason, I would like to thank the military personnel who, together with those from MAECI, have operated in the advanced coordination post in Egypt.”.

Palestinian passengers, some of whom were received by the Red Cross at Ciampino Airport (RM), where the Commander of COVI, Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, was also present, and others who were taken charge of upon landing at Pisa Airport, have been admitted to hospitals identified by the Ministry of Health: Santobono in Naples; Meyer in Florence; Gaslini in Genoa; Sant'Andrea in Rome; Niguarda in Milan; Rizzoli in Bologna; Bambino Gesù in Rome.

Number 46^a Air Brigade reports to the Mobility and Support Forces Command (CFMS) in Rome. With its C-130J and C-27J transport aircraft, it carries out a wide range of air transport missions, both of an exclusively military nature – with participation in all Operational Theatres where the Italian Armed Forces are present – and in the civil sphere, in co-operation with other State agencies.

The flight departments of the Italian Air Force are at the disposal of the community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with assets and crews capable of operating even in complex weather conditions, to ensure the urgent transport of people in imminent danger to life, organs, medical teams or ambulances. Hundreds of flight hours are carried out each year for this type of intervention by the aircraft of the 46^a Air Brigade of Pisa, the 31st Wing of Ciampino, the 14th Wing of Pratica di Mare and the helicopters of the 15th Wing of Cervia.

The involved doctors and nurses of the Italian Air Force come instead from the Health Service of the Logistics Command, which is responsible for studies and programmes in the health sector, Italian Air Force legal medicine, occupational medicine, the procurement of health supplies, aeromedical safety, hygiene, assistance and rehabilitation.