A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Credit: Claudio Pramana/Reuters)
Israeli forces fired warning shots at a convoy of Italian U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon on Wednesday, prompting Rome to summon its ambassador to protest.
An Italian convoy from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had been carrying personnel from the town of Shamaa to Beirut when it was targeted by warning shots fired by the Israeli military, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement.
The convoy immediately stopped and returned to base.
The incident, in which no injuries were reported, prompted Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to call on Israel to cease attacks in Lebanon.
"The continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which have already caused too many deaths and an unacceptable number of displaced people, must cease immediately," Meloni said in a statement in which she condemned the incident.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned the Israeli ambassador in Rome on Wednesday evening after earlier telling parliament, "Italian soldiers in Lebanon are not to be touched."
Tajani told parliament that only one vehicle had been damaged, but Crosetto spoke of "minor damage to the vehicles."
"It is unacceptable that Italian soldiers deployed under the U.N. flag, tasked exclusively with guaranteeing peace and stability, should be exposed to risky situations by the Israeli army," Crosetto said.
UNIFIL is a peacekeeping mission established in 1978 in southern Lebanon.
Italy currently has 754 troops in UNIFIL, the second-largest contingent after Indonesia's 755, according to U.N. figures published March 30.
Meloni said that the Italian UNIFIL convoy was "clearly identifiable as such."
Israel has insisted that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire agreed between the United States and Iran.
On Wednesday, Israel said it had struck around 100 Hezbollah sites across Lebanon, describing the operation as the "largest coordinated strike" since the war with Iran began.
Three Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in separate incidents in southern Lebanon at the end of March, including two who died after an explosion struck a UNIFIL logistics convoy.
