Italy’s defence minister on Thursday 10 October slammed Israel’s “shooting” at the headquarters of the UN peacekeepers force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon as “intolerable”, after the force said it had been hit by Israeli tank fire.
Israel now attacking UN peacekeepers
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Israeli tank fire on its headquarters in the country’s south Thursday wounded two of its members, accusing Israel of “repeatedly” hitting its positions.
It is the most serious incident reported by the mission since it said last week it had rejected Israeli demands to “relocate” from some of its positions.
UNIFIL said in a statement:
This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall.
The two peacekeepers did not suffer serious injuries, “but they remain in hospital,” it said.
According to UNIFIL, the Israeli military also hit another position in Ras Naqura, further to the south, on Thursday.
The peacekeeping force said it hit “the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, and damaging vehicles and a communications system”.
“An IDF drone was observed flying inside the UN position up to the bunker entrance,” it said. The UN then accused Israel of breaking international humanitarian law.
Fascists not liking the war criminals
So, Italy’s defence minister Guido Crosetto said he “protested” to Israel’s defence minister and summoned the Israeli ambassador over the incident.
“The shooting at the UNIFIL headquarters” and other incidents involving “small arms fire” are “intolerable, they must be carefully and decisively avoided”, Crosetto said in a statement:
For these reasons, I protested to my Israeli counterpart and the Israeli ambassador to Italy.
Italy has more than 1,000 troops in the 10,000 strong UNIFIL force in south Lebanon that said Israeli tank fire on its headquarters wounded two members.
Crosetto said he told Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant:
that what is happening… starting from the shooting at the UNIFIL headquarters is, for me and for the Italian government, unacceptable. Any possible error that could put the soldiers, both Italian and UNIFIL, at risk must be avoided.
Italian fascist prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said the government:
has formally protested to the Israeli authorities and has firmly reiterated that what is happening near the UNIFIL contingent base is unacceptable.
UNIFIL has called for a ceasefire since an escalation between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on September 23, after a year of cross-border fire.
Crosetto said there had been other incidents, including the deliberate disabling of perimeter-monitoring cameras and the shooting at a lighting and a relay station, all of which were “in clear contrast to international law:
This morning I sent a formal communication to the United Nations to reiterate the unacceptability of what is happening in South Lebanon.
Thursday’s incident is the most serious reported by UNIFIL since it said last week it had rejected Israeli demands to “relocate” from some positions.
Featured image via the Canary
