Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned on Tuesday, October 15, against withdrawing UN peacekeepers from Lebanon at Israel's unilateral request, as she announced she would visit Lebanon on Friday. Meloni would be the first head of state or government to visit the country since an escalation between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on September 23.
At least five peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as Israel targets Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Italian troops are part of a UN mission in southern Lebanon that has accused Israeli forces of firing on peacekeepers, something Meloni has said was "unacceptable."
Speaking to members of the lower house of parliament on Tuesday, she rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call for the UN to move the peacekeepers. "I think that a withdrawal based on a unilateral request by Israel would be a serious mistake, it would undermine the credibility of the mission itself, the credibility of the United Nations," she said. "And I also think that our soldiers, as they have been precious all these years, will be precious again when we manage to obtain a ceasefire."
UNIFIL, a United Nations mission of about 9,500 troops of various nationalities created following Israel's 1978 invasion of Lebanon, has accused the Israeli military of "deliberately" firing on its positions. Italy is the second-biggest contributor of UNIFIL peacekeepers, and Meloni has been outspoken on the attacks, including during a phone call with Netanyahu on Sunday.
Speaking to the Senate earlier on Tuesday, she said the attitude of the Israeli forces was "entirely unjustified." "In recent days, for the first time in a year of Israeli military actions, the positions of the Italian military contingent assigned to the UNIFIL mission of the United Nations have been hit by the Israeli army," she said. "Although there were no casualties or significant damage, I believe this cannot be considered acceptable."
She demanded the security of the soldiers be guaranteed. She called the Israeli forces' stance "a blatant violation of what was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701."
She added: "On the other hand, we cannot ignore the violation of the same resolution committed over the years by Hezbollah, which has worked to militarise the area under UNIFIL's jurisdiction." Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will be heading to Israel and the Palestinian territories next week, Meloni added.
Lebanon's health ministry said that 41 people had been killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, more than half of them in a northern Christian village outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.
"41 people have been killed and 124 injured" the ministry said, in "Israeli strikes on Lebanon yesterday," including 21 in the northern village of Aito. The newest figures bring the overall death toll since Israel on September 23 launched an intense air campaign in Lebanon to 1,356.
Later Tuesday, Hezbollah said its fighters targeted Israeli bulldozers and a tank near a south Lebanon border village, as the two sides face off at the frontier. Hezbollah fighters targeted "three bulldozers and a Merkava tank on the outskirts of Ramia with guided missiles," causing a fire and casualties, the Iran-backed group said in a statement.