Defence Minister Guido Crosetto issued an urgent protest to Israel yesterday and called on the United Nations to intervene after an Italian military vehicle was struck by Israeli warning shots in southern Lebanon. Foreign Minister Tajani summoned the Israeli ambassador to Rome.
A logistics convoy of the Italian UNIFIL contingent, moving from the town of Shama towards Beirut, was subjected to warning shots fired by the IDF approximately two kilometres from its starting base. Following the incident, the column immediately halted its movement and returned to base.
The vehicle struck was a Lince, a light tactical multi-role vehicle belonging to the Italian Army. The shots hit the tyres and the bumper. No injuries were reported among the personnel on board, though Defence Minister Crosetto made clear the outcome could easily have been different.
The convoy had been heading to Beirut to transport personnel for repatriation — a routine logistical mission under the UN flag. The incident occurred on the same day that Israel launched what it described as its largest co-ordinated strike against Hezbollah to date, killing at least 254 people across Lebanon in a massive wave of air strikes, just hours after the US-Iran ceasefire was agreed.
Rome’s Furious Response
Crosetto’s response was immediate and unambiguous. “I express my strongest and most indignant protest over what happened this morning in UNIFIL’s sector of responsibility in southern Lebanon,” he said in a statement issued through the Ministry of Defence. “Only minor damage to vehicles and no injuries were reported — but for how long? It is unacceptable that Italian soldiers deployed under the UN flag, with the sole purpose of ensuring peace and stability, are exposed to risky situations by the Israeli army.”
He called on the United Nations to act with urgency, demanding that the Israeli authorities be compelled to clarify the incident, adopt concrete measures to protect UNIFIL personnel, and respect both the mission’s mandate and the protections owed to peacekeepers under international law. “Episodes like this are intolerable and must not be repeated,” he said. “Italy will continue to support the peacekeeping mission, but demands full respect for UNIFIL’s role and the protection of its soldiers.”
Prime Minister Meloni also weighed in, calling the actions “irresponsible.” She stated that they constituted “a clear violation of United Nations resolution 1701.” Israel, she said, “will have to clarify what happened.”
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani instructed the Israeli ambassador to be summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to account for what had occurred, stressing that “the Italian military will remain untouched” and that the Israeli armed forces “have no authority to touch Italian soldiers.”
Italy’s stake in UNIFIL
Italy currently has 754 troops deployed in UNIFIL, making it the second-largest national contingent in the mission after Indonesia. The country has long been one of the most committed contributors to the UN force in Lebanon and has consistently advocated for UNIFIL’s mandate and the protection of its personnel.
Wednesday’s incident did not occur in isolation. Spain simultaneously summoned the Israeli chargé d’affaires in Madrid to protest the brief detention of a Spanish UNIFIL soldier by Israeli forces the previous day. The soldier, a peacekeeper, was held for approximately an hour after a logistics convoy was blocked before being released following high-level intervention.
