Italy's PM to visit Lebanon after criticising Israel for strikes against UN forces

Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said yesterday she would visit Lebanon on Friday as she demanded security guarantees from Israel for her country's troops there days after UN peacekeepers came under attack.

- Patrick Wintour, Angela Giuffrida

Italy's government has been a strong supporter of Israel since Hamas's 7 October 2023 attacks but has sharply criticised strikes on the UN mission, known as Unifil, and Israeli calls for the withdrawal of the peacekeepers.

"We believe that the attitude of the Israeli forces is completely unjustified," Meloni told the Italian senate, describing it as a "blatant violation" of a UN resolution on ending hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

She later told the lower house of the parliament: "I believe that a withdrawal on the basis of a unilateral request by Israel would be a big mistake. It would undermine the credibility of the mission itself, the credibility of the United Nations.

Unifil positions have been hit 20 times since the start of Israel's ground operation in southern Lebanon on 1 October, including by direct fire and an incident on Sunday when two Israeli tanks burst through the gates of a Unifil base, the UN has said.

Italy has 1,000 troops deployed in the UN mission and in a separate mission known as Mibil, which trains local armed forces, making it the second-largest contributor after Indonesia.