A UNIFIL vehicle drives through Beirut as part of a UN peacekeeping convoy. Photo: AFP / PATRICK BAZ
Four UN peacekeepers from Italy were wounded by rockets in Lebanon fired by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, Italian officials said.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed "deep indignation and concern" over "new attacks suffered by the Italian headquarters of UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) in southern Lebanon" on Friday.
"These attacks are unacceptable," she said in a statement, calling on "the parties on the ground to guarantee, at all times, the safety of UNIFIL soldiers and to collaborate to quickly identify those responsible".
Meloni did not attribute blame but Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said the rockets were "fired by Hezbollah" and called on both Israel and Lebanon to protect the base.
"We condemn this act of war against the representatives of a peacekeeping mission", he said on X.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the soldiers were "wounded following the launch of two rockets by Hezbollah".
"Attacks against UNIFIL are a grave and unacceptable violation of international law and must stop," he said on X.
An Italian foreign ministry spokesman said Rome would await an investigation by UNIFIL.
The force said "two 122mm rockets struck the Sector West Headquarters" in Shamaa, around five kilometres from the Israeli border.
The village has been a battleground between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters for around a week.
The rockets were "likely launched by Hezbollah or affiliated groups", the force said, adding that it was "the third attack on this UNIFIL base in Shamaa in a week".
The four peacekeepers, whose wounds were not life-threatening, were "receiving treatment at the base hospital", it said.
"UNIFIL strongly urges combating parties to avoid fighting next to its positions," it added.
Lebanon's health ministry said an Israeli air strike on Friday killed the director of Dar al-Amal hospital in the east of the country near Baalbek and six of his colleagues.
A ministry statement announced the "loss of Dr Ali Rakan Allam, director of Dar al-Amal university hospital, and six colleagues in a cowardly Israeli attack which targeted his residence near the hospital".
It also denounced "continual Israeli aggression against medical staff and facilities".
Hezbollah claim
A statement from Hezbollah said its fighters targeted "a gathering of Israeli enemy troops in Shamaa with a rocket salvo".
Crosetto earlier said two 122mm rockets appeared to have hit a bunker on the base.
The peacekeepers were wounded by shards of glass when windows shattered, Crosetto said in a statement, adding that the rocket fire was "intolerable".
He said he had contacted his Lebanese counterpart "reiterating that the Italian contingent of UNIFIL remains in southern Lebanon to offer a window of opportunity for peace and cannot become hostage to attacks by militias".
"I will try to speak with the new Israeli minister of defence (Israel Katz), which has been impossible since he took office, to ask him to avoid using UNIFIL bases as a shield," he said.
"Even more intolerable is the presence of terrorists in south Lebanon who are endangering the safety of the blue helmets and the civilian population."
Crosetto later said on X he had been told by Katz that "the IDF (Israeli military) is making every effort to protect UNIFIL forces and positions in the region".
Tasked with monitoring the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel, UNIFIL's 10,000 peacekeepers have come under repeated fire during the current Israel-Hezbollah war.
- AFP