Approximately one hundred soldiers from the Sassari Brigade took off this morning from Elmas civilian airport to reach the Shama base in Lebanon, where the Dimonios lead the UNIFIL Leonte mission.
A UN operation that was supposed to see the Blue Helmets engaged in maintaining peace between Hezbollah militants and Israel. A peace that was shattered by the attack on Iran on February 28th.
The Sassari soldiers left shortly before 2:00 PM aboard an Air Force Boeing 767 to join their colleagues who began their deployment on March 5, when command of the Western contingent, which until then had been entrusted to the Taurinense Alpine Brigade, was handed over .
The number of Dimonios, with the full deployment, should reach 500, out of approximately 1,300 Italians and 2,800 blue helmets, all under the leadership of General Andrea Fraticelli, commander of the Brigade.
But the intensification of fighting in the area is leading to a reassessment of the UN's commitment: Israel has already asked the UN peacekeepers not to interfere with IDF maneuvers, which could proceed with a ground attack. This hypothesis was confirmed this morning: Tel Aviv, according to Axios, which cites several Israeli and US officials, is planning "a massive ground invasion" of southern Lebanon, with the aim of "taking control" of the area bordered to the north by the Litani River and "dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure."
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the UNIFIL Southern Sector mission, Kandice Ardiel, said: "One of our positions near Meiss ej Jebel was hit, likely by heavy machine gun fire. The impact caused a fire, and a peacekeeper, while heading toward the shelter, was slightly injured. We have launched an investigation." The injured person is a Nepalese soldier.
Also in Lebanon was UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez: "My message to the warring parties is: no more fighting, no more bombing. There is no military solution. Only diplomacy and dialogue."
The diplomatic proposal
By evening, diplomatic channels for resolving the conflict seemed to have opened. French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a meeting between the parties in Paris. On the table would be the Lebanese government's proposal to disarm Hezbollah and recognize the sovereignty of the State of Israel.