Clash between Iran and Israel, from Lebanon to the Persian Gulf, here is where the Italian military are
At a hearing held last week before the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees of the House and Senate, the commander of the Covi, General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, provided information on the missions. Crosetto: "Italian soldiers in Lebanon not targets but risks".
4' min read
Key points
- Figliuolo's remarks in the hearing
- Lebanon: Unifil and Mibil missions
- Crosetto: Italian military in Lebanon not targets but risks
- Assistance to the population in the conflict between Israel and Hamas
- Palestinian security forces training
- Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai
- Iraq
- Red Sea Crisis: Aspides and Atalanta
4' min read
Already in the hours after Iran's attack against Israel, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani emphasised that Italy is working to prevent an escalation of the conflict. "There is a high concentration of military forces" in the area between the Middle East and the Red Sea, the head of the Farnesina recalled. "Italy is not involved in attack operations with the navy but we are certainly following the situation with great attention and I am in constant contact with the Defence Minister and of course with the Prime Minister," Tajani explained.
Figliuolo's remarks at the hearing
.During a hearing held last week before the Foreign and Defence Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, the commander of the CoVI (Comando operativo di vertice interforze), General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, provided important indications on the presence of the Italian military in crisis areas. "In this context characterised by widespread instability," said Figliuolo, "the recent crisis in the Middle East with the conflict that broke out following the Hamas attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent spread to the Red Sea, have also exacerbated the risk of polarisation of the international community and confirmed once again how the effects, even in less strategic quadrants, can generate consequences that directly affect Italy, even in different sectors, not least the economic and commercial one.
Lebanon: Unifil and Mibil missions
If this is the scenario, the next step for the head of Covi was to go into the detail of the individual missions. As far as the Eastern Mediterranean is concerned, Figliuolo stressed that "the significant commitment of our armed forces to the stabilisation and development of Lebanon continues, where we participate with a contingent of more than 1100 units, 400 land vehicles, 1 naval unit if requested by the UN as part of the German-led Maritime Task Force, and 7 air assets as part of the UNIFIL Mission and the bilateral training mission of the Lebanese Armed Forces called MIBIL". "The situation remains tense, even after yesterday," said Unifil spokesman Andrea Tenenti, ". We remain operational and continue to patrol the Blue Line and the area in southern Lebanon."
Crosetto: Italian soldiers in Lebanon not targets but risks
Speaking at a hearing before the joint Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto acknowledged that after Iran's attack on Israel, 'the risks of potential collateral damage in the Red Sea and, above all, in Lebanon are increasing; established in fact that our military are not deliberate targets, the risk of their involvement, albeit unintentional, in the exchange of fire between the parties remains'.
Assistance to the population in the context of the conflict between Israel and Hamas
Then there is the commitment of the Italian military to support the civilian population affected by the clash between Israel and Hamas. In this case, the reference operation is ' Levante ': through a strengthened presence in the eastern Mediterranean, it envisages the deployment of a military device for humanitarian interventions in favour of the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip, as well as support for possible evacuation operations of compatriots.
