Attack on Unifil mission in Lebanon, Meloni: "Unacceptable". Crosetto: "Italy and UN do not take orders from Israel". China: "Open investigation".

"Right now the only thing we can do is to protect ourselves. When the shots in the base came we were in the bunkers. We remain in our bases doing our duty, within the perimeter of our security, as long as we are allowed to by the UN and the Defence". Thus Italian military sources in Lebanon regarding the attack.

"Yesterday (Wednesday, 9 October, ed.), in the evening, regular IDF (the Israeli army, ed.) soldiers had neutralised some components of the video surveillance system at base 1-31, the lighting system and a radio repeater at base 1-32A with small arms fire. Then, this morning, some small arms fire hit the interior of base 1-31, which was followed by a drone flyover. The situation is currently under control, the personnel are safe,' is the reconstruction of what happened provided by the Head of Defence, Guido Crosetto. "With Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni there is full agreement that the safety of the Italian military deployed in Lebanon is the top priority," he added. "I keep her constantly updated on the evolution of the situation, which she follows with great attention and participation. Security is the only way to ensure that the Italian peacekeepers continue their work of mediation and support for peace and stability in the region'. Crosetto also moved with the UN. "This morning,' he said, 'I sent a formal communication to the United Nations to reiterate the unacceptability of what is happening in southern Lebanon and to ensure Italy's full and constructive cooperation in all military initiatives aimed at favouring a de-escalation of the situation and the restoration of international law'.

"There is no justification for saying that the Israeli armed forces had warned Unifil that some of the bases had to be left. I told the ambassador to tell the Israeli government that the United Nations and Italy cannot take orders from the Israeli government". So said Defence Minister Guido Crosetto at a press conference at Palazzo Chigi. "The hostile acts carried out and repeated by the Israeli forces could constitute war crimes, they are extremely serious violations of the norms of international law, not justified by any military reason". For Crosetto, the bilateral mission Mibil, which trains the Lebanese armed forces, is "fundamental and is now reduced because there are no security conditions, but in the future it must be implemented. I am talking about peacetime, certainly not under bombardment'.

Crosetto also said that he had "contacted the Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, to protest with him and remind him firmly that what is happening near the Italian Unifil bases in southern Lebanon and, in general, towards the Unifil contingent, starting with the shots fired at the Unifil headquarters, is, for me and for the Italian government, unacceptable. "Although I have received assurances on the utmost attention to the safety of military personnel, I have reiterated that any possible mistake that could put soldiers, both Italian and Unifil soldiers, at risk must be avoided."

The contingent of Italian soldiers, consisting of 1,200 soldiers, operating in Lebanon as part of the UN mission Unifil remains on the ground, despite the fact that the balance between the Israelis and Hezbollah has shaken in the last few hours, and the picture has become even more complex, as shown by what has happened. On the Blue Line, in that UN-led buffer between Lebanon and Israel, people are now living hand to mouth. As the escalation of the Middle East crisis continues to reach increasingly worrying levels, soldiers at the Unifil bases are increasingly forced to take refuge in bunkers.

The Lebanon dossier has become even more of a priority in the last few days, with the Prime Minister having already on Tuesday 1 October called urgently ministers, ambassadors and heads of services - who had already been on the alert for weeks due to the risk of reverberations of the Middle East crisis on national security - as soon as news of the missiles that Iran was launching on Israel had reached her. The summit, a note from Palazzo Chigi had explained, "was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in remote connection, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, the delegated authority for security services, the heads of the secret services, the Prime Minister's diplomatic advisor and, in connection, the Italian Ambassador to Israel, Luca Ferrari".

The alert was already maximum, and the situation monitored 'minute by minute'. Among the indications that had come out of that first meeting was that of a permanent table, to be ready to take 'promptly the necessary measures'. An 'appeal' to all actors to stop in order to avoid 'further escalation'. And a request, to the United Nations, to review and "strengthen" the mandate of the Unifil mission and "ensure the security of the border between Israel and Lebanon".

Unifil currently numbers around 10,000 blue helmets from over 40 countries. In southern Lebanon - along the Blue Line on the border with Israel - there are over 1,000 Italians employed in the United Nations mission (the largest contingent after Indonesia), while another 200 or so are in Beirut in the Bilateral Mission Mibil. The Italian soldiers are present in the western sector of Unifil's area of responsibility, in the coastal area and east of Tyre, the one so far least affected by the intensity of Israeli air and artillery raids. And so far not directly affected by the first short and limited Israeli ground incursions. With resolution 2749 of 28 August, the UN Security Council unanimously renewed the Unifil mandate until 31 August 2025. The resolution urges both sides to urgently implement a ceasefire across the Blue Line that effectively and immediately ends all cross-border threats, and to work towards the full and symmetrical implementation of resolution 1701 to ensure the safe return of displaced populations on both sides as part of a broader negotiated settlement.

In recent days, Crosetto clarified that 'in July 2024, we Italians sent experts in amphibious operations who helped to refine the contingency plan for a non-permissive scenario, providing for the deployment of amphibious assets and integrating it with our national plans. We provided strategic evacuation assets such as ships and aircraft," he added. The synergy between the inter-force top operational command and the Farnesina crisis unit, the Defence chief continued, "has allowed us to update the evacuation plans for all personnel present in Lebanon. Naval air assets have already been pre-alerted for this purpose, and their readiness level has recently been raised and adapted to the situation on the ground".

China's ambassador to the UN called for the attack on Unifil in Lebanon to be 'investigated'. In his address to the Security Council, Fu Cong also hoped that 'those responsible will pay the consequences'.