Italian Navy Ship Vulcano left for the Middle East with Role-2 hospital onboard

An Army field hospital will also be delivered at a later date

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“Italy is already doing its part and will continue to do it every day to help Palestinian civilians who cannot be blamed for the ongoing war and share no responsibility with Hamas for the 7 October attacks to which Israel is rightly reacting in the attempt to eradicate once and for all this inhuman terrorist organization. As we promised, it is with great pride that, in a very short time, Italy was able to equip Navy Ship Vulcano with a Role-2 hospital, and prepare an Army field hospital to be delivered next. These are concrete signals of the humanitarian aid that our country is sending to the Gaza Strip. Facilities and means which, as soon as they will arrive in that area, will be made available also to medical and health service personnel of all the countries – be they Western or Arab- who want to cooperate with us in this humanitarian action which, for us, is a precise moral duty before being a political one. Furthermore it is necessary, as well as being our specific task now more than ever, to establish diplomatic as well as humanitarian relations and talks, and a cross-cutting cooperation with all the actors in the Middle East region, in particular Arab countries, while also identifying at all costs how to de-escalate tensions and this conflict. Currently, the Defence Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry are working to expand participation in this humanitarian operation to share this unprecedented activity to the maximum.”

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto took part in a press conference to announce the departure of Navy Ship Vulcano.

Today, after the completion of loading operations, the naval unit left the Civitavecchia Port heading to Cyprus, where she will join Italian ships already deployed in that area (San Giusto, Fasan, Margottin and Tahon di Revel), currently engaged in Operation Safe Mediterranean. She will then redeploy where it is more necessary. The Vulcano naval unit, thanks to its logistical support capacities and Role-2 hospital, including dispensaries, diagnostic instruments and surgery rooms, will strengthen the medical capabilities of the mechanism already deployed in the area. Moreover, she will ensure transportation of further basic and medical material.

The ship’s crew is made up of approximately 170 sailors, including 30 assigned to the medical facility and 2 Red Cross nurses. The ship left port at the end of preparation activities.

Subsequently, as soon as planning and preparation phases will be completed, The Defence Staff will organize a military flight with joint forces medical personnel from the Army, Air Force and Carabinieri. More specifically, 3 reanimators, 2 surgeons, 1 orthopedics specialist, 8 critical area/reanimation nurses, 3 surgical tools nurses, 8 nurses, 1 radiology technician and 2 biologists.

The Joint operations Headquarters is also concurrently preparing the deployment of an Army field hospital with Role-2 capabilities. The latter is made up of different operational modules able to interconnect with facilities from other countries deployed in that area.