The Italian bases of the Unifil mission in southern Lebanon have once again been targeted by the Israeli army. According to qualified security sources who follow the dossier and are in contact with the leaders of the UN mission, the attack took place on base 1-31 – already hit in recent days – and two walls demarcating the base were demolished. This is therefore a further attack compared to the one in which two Sri Lankan soldiers were injured, which occurred near the headquarters of the Unifil mission in Naqoura
Crosetto, “we are in Lebanon and we will remain there”
“It will never be us who move because someone tells us, by force, to move. We are there and we remain there, with the strength of the United Nations mandate.” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto reiterated this after the Israeli attacks on the Italian bases of the Unifil mission in Lebanon. “Yesterday – added Crosetto from Kosovo where he went to visit the Italian soldiers – I responded to Israel who told us to move, that Italy doesn’t take orders from anyone”.
“What happens next time, should we answer?” this is what Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in the talks held in recent hours with Israel after the attacks on the Unifil bases in southern Lebanon. “It’s a provocative question – he added – due to the gravity of the act that took place.” Responding to journalists during his visit to Kosovo, the minister also returned to the rules of engagement of the UN mission. “I’ve been asking for a change in the rules of engagement for a year and a half, I formalized it and told everyone, but it wasn’t listened to.”
Israel: “Unifil hit by mistake in clashes with Hezbollah”
The IDF was notified that two UNIFIL peacekeepers were “inadvertently wounded during the army’s fighting against Hezbollah” in southern Lebanon. This was reported by the Israeli army, expressing “deep concern about incidents of this type”. «The IDF takes every precaution to minimize damage to civilians and peacekeepers. Given the complex and difficult operational environment in which Hezbollah uses structures civilians and UNIFIL as shields, the IDF will continue to make efforts to mitigate the risk of such unfortunate incidents recurring,” he adds.