Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosted both an Israeli former hostage and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at her official residence in Rome on Friday, underscoring Italy’s efforts to engage with both sides in the wake of the war in Gaza.
Earlier in the day, Meloni warmly welcomed Rom Braslavski, a survivor of Hamas captivity, describing him in an official government statement as “the young Israeli who was kidnapped on October 7 and held in Gaza for 738 days.” Photos released from the meeting at Palazzo Chigi, the prime minister’s residence, showed Meloni embracing Braslavski.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosts Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at her official residence in Rome on Friday
(Photo: from X)
Shortly after that meeting, Meloni hosted Abbas and shared footage of their encounter on X, writing: “A warm welcome to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.” She said the two discussed “recent developments in the region, particularly the need to establish a ceasefire in Gaza through the full implementation of President Trump’s peace plan.”
Meloni added that Italy is “determined to play a leading role in the stabilization and reconstruction of Gaza” and reaffirmed support for the Palestinian Authority’s reform program, which she called essential to restarting a political process toward a “just and lasting peace based on a two-state solution.”
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Ex-Hamas hostage Rom Braslavski and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meet at the Palazzo Chigi in Rome; Meloni with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
(Photo: REUTERS/Francesco Fotia, from social media)
Braslavski’s visit came days after he was a guest at the annual Atreju conference, organized by Meloni’s ruling Brothers of Italy party. There, he was welcomed with applause and interviewed on stage by veteran Italian-Jewish journalist Maurizio Molinari. The discussion was moderated by Jewish-Italian Senator Ester Mieli, a senior party member and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors.
During the event, Braslavski shared his emotions about visiting Italy and described his experience as a Hamas hostage. "I’m honored to be here," he told the audience. "I want to speak briefly about the hostage pin I’m wearing. When I asked an Italian I met outside if he knew what it meant, he said he had no idea. It’s painful that people around the world don’t recognize this symbol. It represents unity, equality and also blood, murder, pain and the terrible trauma of October 7."
Recalling the day he was abducted by Hamas terrorists while working as a security guard at the Nova music festival, Braslavski gave a graphic account of the atrocities he witnessed. “I saw young, beautiful women thrown to the ground, their clothes ripped, their bodies riddled with bullets. Rivers of blood flowed across the road while cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ rang out from every direction,” he said.
“I saw piles of bodies in garbage bins — women, elderly people, children — all slaughtered just because they were Israeli and Jewish.”
He added: “I went to work at a party, and look what happened to me. My life was destroyed. The massacre on October 7 had no justification. It was inhuman.”
Braslavski thanked Meloni for the invitation, saying, “Just two months ago I was 40 meters underground in Gaza, wearing torn clothes, without a shower for over a month, starving for days. And now look at me — this is a divine miracle.”
His appearance in Italy followed a series of mass pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the country just weeks earlier. On one day of protest held across 75 cities, violent clashes erupted in Milan, where demonstrators caused widespread damage at the central train station and confronted police.
First published: 08:42, 12.13.25