Palestinian children welcomed in Italy, but Meloni's humanitarian gesture is merely a political calculation.

Today, 34 more children from Gaza in need of urgent care will arrive in Italy. It seems like a purely humanitarian initiative, and it certainly is. But it's also a carefully considered political move. The shift in Italy's position on Gaza is evident, and not a day goes by without it being confirmed.

Yesterday, Italy also signed, along with Canada, the United Kingdom , the EU , and many individual member states of the Union itself, an appeal for the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza and for NGOs, which must be able to continue their work in the Strip safely. Criticism of the Israeli government for its decision to attack Gaza City is clear, and yesterday Giorgia Meloni spoke with Palestinian President Abbas, then with bin Salman , precisely about the role that Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries can play in a ceasefire, which at this point represents the only possibility of avoiding escalation.

But while the Italian government's criticism of the Israeli government is now open to the resulting decisions, there is no unified vision within the government. After Crosetto explicitly spoke of the need to take action to force Netanyahu to stop, thus requiring sanctions, albeit unspecified, while ruling out recognition of a Palestinian state , Foreign Minister Tajani all but contradicted him, stating that "Italy is open to recognizing Palestine ." Tajani, however, while unambiguously rejecting the possible occupation of the Strip by the Israeli Defense Forces, used a softer tone than Crosetto, so much so that AFS leader Fratoianni asked whether Italy's position was that of Crosetto or that of the Foreign Minister.

In reality, Italy's position is Giorgia Meloni's, which is currently unknown. The prime minister's position, however, is known, albeit informally, and this is where the 34 children arriving today come into play. The prime minister would much rather avoid dramatic steps—though in her view, they are of little use and would also provoke tensions with the US— such as recognition, sanctions, or a total halt to the shipment of war material. To achieve this goal, she intends to "pragmatically" flaunt the concrete initiatives that Italy has undertaken and is undertaking. These include humanitarian ones, such as the reception of the children from Gaza. Diplomatic ones, such as the extensive network of contacts with Arab countries and the Palestinian National Authority itself.

In the shadow of the two ongoing negotiations, the one on Ukraine and the less visible but more pressing one on Gaza, Giorgia Meloni's return to the European fold has actually been completed. The backtracking, following Trump's stumble that coincided with the Italian's trip to Washington, had already been in place for months. On Ukraine, Italy has fully returned to its usual position: that of staunch and uncompromising support for Kiev and Zelensky. The line is that of " No agreements without Ukraine." On Gaza, at least on paper, Italy's position does not differ from that of Europe.

In concrete terms, that is, regarding the decisions to be made, the issue does not arise for now, simply because there is no European position on the matter. Yesterday, the Council of Europe, through Human Rights Commissioner O'Flaherty , called on all member states to halt military supplies. Luxembourg immediately responded that it did not intend to do so, although it subsequently withdrew its sovereign wealth fund's participation in 11 Israeli companies. Germany has suspended supplies of weapons and weapons components to Israel , but remains opposed to economic sanctions. France is calling for a UN mission, which currently seems even more unlikely than the one it proposed a few months ago in Ukraine.

In this confusion, unable to adopt a unified and therefore truly binding position, the Italian prime minister is moving to avoid unconvincing steps, from recognition to sanctions. If Europe ever moves with a single voice and a unified decision-making capacity, an Italy that has nevertheless chosen Europe will almost certainly not back down. But until then, Giorgia will only dance to her own tune.

FROM

David Romoli