The bases of the UNIFIL mission in southern Lebanon – in which a thousand Italian soldiers participate, including soldiers from the Sassari Brigade – have once again been targeted by Israel, with another blue helmet wounded: it is the fifth in two days.
"Last night, a peacekeeper at the UNIFIL headquarters" in Naqura "was hit by gunfire due to ongoing military activity nearby... We do not yet know the source of the shot," reads a statement, which also specifies that the peacekeeper's conditions are "stable." According to qualified security sources, the person is an Indonesian soldier , the same nationality as the two who were hit and wounded two days ago when an Israeli tank fired on an observation tower , also at the same base.
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"Several walls in our UN position fell when an IDF caterpillar hit the perimeter," Italian sources reported. "A lot of damage," said Blue Helmets spokesman Andrea Tenenti. "Just last night, on the Ghanaian peacekeeping forces' position, just outside, the explosion was so strong that it destroyed some of the containers inside very badly. " Working is "very difficult because there is a lot of damage, even inside the bases," he added.
Two Villages Attacked, Another 9 Dead
Meanwhile, there were also Israeli attacks on Lebanese soil today: according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, two villages were attacked, one north of Beirut and the other south of the capital, and at least nine people were killed . In an "Israeli enemy attack on Maaysra," a predominantly Shiite Muslim village in a mountainous, predominantly Christian area north of Beirut, "five people were killed and 14 others were injured," the ministry said in a statement, adding that another "four people were killed and 14 others injured" in another "Israeli enemy attack" on Barja, in the Shouf district, south of the capital.
The Med9 Summit
A situation that is worrying the international community and in particular the countries involved in the field, starting, as stated, with Italy.
Yesterday - on the sidelines of the Med9 summit - Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni signed a joint declaration with French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez : "We count on Israel's commitment to the security of the UN and bilateral peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, as well as of the international organizations active in the region," reads the note from the three leaders.
Meloni, Macron and Sanchez simultaneously expressed "condemnation and indignation" , stressing that the attacks "constitute a serious violation of Israel's obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and international humanitarian law. These attacks - the joint statement concludes - are unjustifiable and must end immediately".
A European declaration of condemnation is also coming: negotiations "are underway" but "attempts" to reach a statement by 27 are not yet "complete", sources told Ansa. In view of next week's European Council, negotiations on the conclusions are continuing. " The discussions remain complicated, with most member states asking for strong language on the current situation , in particular on attacks against Unifil and violations of international humanitarian law, while some (few) member states want to have softer language ", explains a diplomat.
(Online Union)