Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has said the country will provide hospital treatment for 100 Palestinian children from Gaza after transporting them by plane and ship in an operation to be launched in the next few days, Reuters reports.

The first 30 children will fly from Egypt, Crosetto said, where they sought refuge and medical assistance after escaping the Israeli bombardment of the neighbouring Gaza enclave.

Another 30 will reach Italy with their families at the end of January aboard the military vessel Vulcano which will depart from the Egyptian port of al-Arish.

“One cannot remain indifferent in the face of the serious humanitarian crisis,” Crosetto said in a statement, adding that Italy’s move was “a moral duty more than a political one.”