An Italian air force plane on Wednesday transported 2.4 tonnes of hygiene kits to the Lebanese capital Beirut, where a huge explosion last week killed over 170 people, wounding some 6,000 and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
The hygiene kits were flown to Beirut from the central Italian city of Pisa after they were loaded last night at the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Brindisi, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The kits were made available by the Italian government's overseas aid department "to deal with the health emergency in Lebanon and the growing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic," the statement said.
The Italian government is ready to respond to fresh requests for aid to blast-hit, bankrupt Lebanon, Italy's deputy foreign minister Emanuela Del Re said on Tuesday.
Last week, Italy airlifted 8.5 tonnes of medical supplies and a team of experts to Beirut after the 4 August blast. The explosion is believed to have happened when a fire detonated 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored for six years without safety measures at Beirut's port.
