Italy urges Israel to stop attacks on civilians in Gaza

By Merve Berker

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Monday called on Israel to stop attacking civilians in Gaza.

Tajani told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the “line” that Rome follows regarding the Israeli attacks on Gaza is “very clear.”

“We forcefully ask Israel -- which has the right to defend itself, as we have always said -- to stop attacks that lead to a very high number of civilian victims, which is in contrast with international law,” the official stated.

Italy opposes “any act that further increases tension and involves innocent people,” said Tajani, calling for a cease-fire, quoting US President Joe Biden as saying: “It is not too late.”

Rome is prepared to deploy Carabinieri forces, as requested, to support the construction of a Palestinian state, in coordination with Arab countries, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority (PNA), while excluding Hamas from this process, Tajani stressed.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed nearly 40,000 victims, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,000 others, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

- Ongoing Russian war

The foreign minister also touched on the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine, saying: “We support Ukraine without ifs and buts, we can understand their desire to defend themselves even by counterattacking, but we are not at war with Russia.”

“The weapons we have supplied cannot be used to attack Russia on its territory,” he said.

“We will certainly not send our soldiers to fight and we invite everyone to be extremely cautious,” he added.

Last Tuesday, Russia said that Ukrainian troops with tanks and armored combat vehicles attacked its military positions near two border settlements in the Kursk region.

Since then, Moscow has reported that it has been repelling incursions into the border region by Ukrainian forces, in addition to countering airstrikes launched at Kursk and surrounding regions, including Belgorod.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 7 accused Kyiv of “large-scale provocation” and “indiscriminate shooting.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later commented on the allegations, saying: “Russia brought the war to our land and should feel what it has done.”