One hundred Palestinian children wounded in Gaza bombardment are to receive medical treatment in Italian hospitals, the defence ministry in Rome said according to AFP.

The healthcare system has almost entirely collapsed in Gaza after more than three months of devastating Israeli bombardment and fighting in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The ministry announced “the start of the operation for the transport of 100 Palestinian children and their families from the Gaza Strip to Italian hospital facilities.”

The first 30 children are set to be transferred in the next few days “with an air force airlift between Italy and Egypt”, the ministry said in a communique.

Another 30 children will arrive at the end of the month on board an Italian military ship, the “Nave Vulcano”, which will soon leave Egypt’s port of El Arish, it added.

The children will be hospitalised in several Italian cities, including Rome, Bologna, Florence and Genoa.

Separately, the ministry said it is in talks with countries in the region to set up an army field hospital.