ROME: Italy’s defence ministry said Tuesday that the Hezbollah group staged an attack on a UN peacekeeping base in Lebanon that it initially blamed on Israel.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto had said in Brussels that Israeli forces staged the new attack on the UN base in the Lebanese town of Chamaa. But a defence ministry source said that Crosetto only “had partial information” when he spoke.
“Hezbollah was responsible for the attack,” the source told AFP.
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The Italian defence ministry initially reported that eight rockets hit UNIFIL’s base where an Italian contingent was located, without attributing responsibility for the fire.
The strikes hit areas where no soldiers were present, it added and no serious injuries were reported.
Italy is the biggest European contributor to the UNIFIL force that has complained of increasing attacks since Israel started its campaign targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
UNIFIL, currently with more than 9,300 troops, has been stationed in southern Lebanon since 1978 and is tasked with monitoring the “Blue Line” of demarcation with Israel.
Italy has some 1,000 troops in the force.
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