Italy’s Foreign Minister condemns rocket attack on UNIFIL base

Italy’s Foreign Minister has condemned an attack on the UN peacekeeping mission headquarters in Lebanon after the base was hit by rockets allegedly fired by the militant group Hezbollah or its affiliates.

Four Italian soldiers were slightly injured when two exploding 122mm rockets hit the UNIFIL mission base in Shama in southern Lebanon.

“Once again, it is unacceptable what is happening. Just like we told to Israel to pay the utmost attention and avoid projectiles or artillery fire against our base, in the same firm way we tell it to Hezbollah as well, that our military must not be touched,” Antonio Tajani told reporters in Turin.

“It must be very clear, this organisation cannot play with weapons, if they don’t know how to use them, they better do something else.”

According to initial reports, the rockets hit parts of the UNIFIL premises where blue helmets had taken refuge.

Several UNIFIL posts have been hit since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on 1 October, leaving some peacekeepers wounded.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also condemned the attack, calling it “unacceptable”.

“I renew my call for the parties on the ground to ensure, at all times, the safety of UNIFIL soldiers and to work together to quickly identify those responsible,” she said.

Earlier on Friday, a spokesperson for UNIFIL, Andrea Tenenti, said it was monitoring “heavy clashes” between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters in different areas in south Lebanon, including the coastal town of Naqoura and the village of Chamaa to the northeast.

ICC arrest warrants

This comes a day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas military leader.

The ICC accuses them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the 13-month war in Gaza and the October 2023 incursion into Israel.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war broke out.

Gaza’s Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.

The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants without providing any evidence.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel the day after the war in Gaza started with both sides exchanging almost daily cross-border fire, displacing tens of thousands on both sides of the border.

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But that situation escalated after Israel launched a ground offensive into Lebanon at the start of October, with as many as 15,000 Israeli troops believed to be operating in the country.