The international community "must act immediately" to prevent an Israeli military offensive in war-devastated Gaza's southern border town of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians are sheltering, Italy said on Monday.
"On Gaza we must act immediately,'' said Tajani, who is holding talks with US secretary of state Antony Blinken, European and Arab ministers on the sidelines of a the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh.
Blinken is due to address the World Economic Forum, which is being attended by ministers and by representatives from industry and the financial world from dozens of countries. Blinken is also slated to hold talks at the forum with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and ministers from the region and from Europe.
Speaking at the forum, Abbas appealed the US to stop Israel's planned Rafah offensive, which the Jewish State vows to carry out as part of its war to eliminate Hamas militarily.
A dinner is scheduled for Monday evening at which Tajani will also be present, as well as Blinken, ministers from Egypt, France, Germany Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Unite Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
The US has repeatedly said it cannot back a large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah without seeing a credible plan to keep civilians out of harm's way in the overcrowded city, where conditions are already dire, with reports of a lack of food, water and medical aid.
The current war began when Hamas attacked Israeli communities near Gaza on 7 Octber, killing about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking over 240 hostages. Some 133 hostages are believed still to be in Gaza, of whom about 30 are thought to be dead, after a brief truce in November saw some hostages released.
Israel's bombing campaign and ground operations in Gaza since 7 October has killed over 34,000 people, mainly civilians, has displaced most of its 2.3 million population and reduced much of the Palestinian coastal enclave to rubble.
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