Italy summons Israeli ambassador after UN shots fired in Lebanon
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the media in Rome, Italy, September 1, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
By Angelo AmanteThursday April 9, 2026
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the media in Rome, Italy, September 1, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Italy demanded answers from Israel on Wednesday after shots were fired at an Italian convoy serving with a U.N. mission in Lebanon, summoning the Israeli ambassador and saying the country’s forces had “no authority to touch” Rome’s troops.
The convoy was part of UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon to watch the ceasefire line with Israel, a frontier that has repeatedly turned volatile as Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters have clashed.
“Israeli warning shots have damaged one of our vehicles; fortunately, no one was injured,” Tajani told the lower house of parliament. He later said on X that he had instructed officials to summon the Israeli ambassador.
“It is completely unacceptable that personnel operating under the U.N. flag should be put at risk by irresponsible actions such as today’s, which are in clear violation of U.N. Resolution 1701,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a separate statement.
Meloni also pressed for an end to the war in Lebanon, tying her appeal to the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
While condemning Hezbollah, she added: “Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon which have already resulted in too many deaths and an unacceptable number of displaced people, must cease immediately.”
According to a defence ministry statement, the Italian logistics convoy was travelling from Shama to Beirut on Wednesday when Israeli forces fired warning shots roughly 2 km after it departed. The convoy stopped at once and returned to base, the ministry said.
The episode unfolded as Israel launched its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since its conflict with Hezbollah began early last month, insisting that the ceasefire pausing the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran did not cover Lebanon.
UNIFIL had about 7,500 peacekeepers as of March 30, according to the mission’s website, and Italy is among its biggest contributors, with more than 750 soldiers on the ground.
Reporting by Angelo Amante, additional reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Gavin Jones and Ross Russell