Italy lodges protests with Israel for ‘targeting’ UN troops in Lebanon

Rome: Italy officially lodged a protest with Israel for “targeting” the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),  which hosts UNIFIL headquarters and two Italian bases.

On Thursday Defence Minister Guido Crosetto contacted his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant to complain, defining the events as “unacceptable to the Italian government”.

But the minister said none of the 1,068 Italian troops deployed with the mission were injured.

Early on Thursday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired on UNIFIL’s positions, injuring two peacekeepers at the mission headquarters in Naqoura, according to a UNIFIL statement.

Israeli soldiers also fired towards a second UN position in southern Lebanon, hitting the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, and damaging a communication system, Xinhua news agency reported.

UNIFIL operates along the so-called “Blu Line” marking the separation between Israel and Lebanon, and currently counts some 10,000 peacekeepers contributed by 48 countries.

In a phone conversation, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her solidarity with UNIFIL Western Sector Commander, Italian general Stefano Messina, while Crosetto summoned the Israeli ambassador to lodge a formal protest, saying what was happening towards the UNIFIL contingent “clearly contradicts international law and is in open violation of Resolution 1701.”

Unanimously approved by the UN Security Council, Resolution 1701 put an end to the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 and strengthened the UNIFIL mission.

The latest events came amid an escalation along the Blue Line. Since September 23, the Israeli army has been launching intensive airstrikes across Lebanon and also launched a “limited” ground operation.

The total number of fatalities in Lebanon has exceeded 2,100, with over 10,000 individuals injured, according to Lebanese authorities.