Italy’s defense ministry admits Hezbollah staged an attack on itself when a UN Interim Force in Lebanon base was hit by rocket fire that it initially blamed on Israel, Barron’s reported on Tuesday.
Last week, Italy said an unexploded artillery shell hit the base of UNIFIL base, putting the blame on the IDF.
According to Barron’s, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto had initially said in Brussels that the IDF had staged the attack on the UN base in Lebanon.
Israel’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar had promised Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani an ‘immediate investigation’ into the shell incident.
However, an IDF review determined that Hezbollah was responsible for firing the rocket hit the UNIFIL post, the military said.
According to UNFIL, the strikes hit areas where no peacekeepers were present, and no serious injuries were reported.
Hezbollah attacks
On Tuesday morning, multiple UN Interim Force in Lebanon bases were hit by rocket fire and then again in the afternoon, one in the region of Ramyeh, another near Chamaa, and additional locations were hit later, UNIFIL said.
According to the IDF assessment, the rocket was fired from the area of Deir Aames, one of many fired by Hezbollah in a barrage launched at Israel at 9:50 a.m.
UNIFIL agreed with the IDF report that these strikes were from Hezbollah, saying the rocket was “fired most likely by non-state actors within Lebanon.”
