Salt on pressure from Italy and the Vatican on Israel. “Too many civilian deaths”, say the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Pietro Parolin. Dry reply from the ambassador of the Jewish state in Rome, Alon Bar: “Tajani should make efforts to avoid civilian casualties. This is the hour when we see who the true friends are,” he says during the reception for the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Israel. Meanwhile, after a Meloni-Schlein phone call, the motions on Gaza of the majority, of Action, of Italia Viva and that of the Democratic Party for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" pass to the Chamber. M5S differs: "The government should take a position on Rafah".
Gaza, Chamber approves motion on "ceasefire"
The Democratic Party's request to the government to engage internationally to "support any initiative aimed at asking for a immediate ceasefire humanitarian” of the ongoing conflict in Middle East. The passage of the Dem motion was approved with the votes of the opposition, the center-right abstained after the government had returned to the Chamber. Also approved were the motions of the majority, of IV, of Action and some commitments contained in the texts presented by the 5 Star Movement - on the opening of humanitarian corridors and the release of hostages - and by the Green and Left Alliance, on the convening of a peace conference . Before the start of the session of the Montecitorio Chamber Elly Schlein, secretary of the Democratic Party, had had two telephone conversations with the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
Gaza, Tajani: "We are friends of Israel but we need de-escalation"
“We are friends of Israel and we strongly support its right to defend itself and its need not to be attacked from the outside,” but the global interest is in “de-escalation.” You said it in a speech on RTL the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. “No one can think of erasing Israel from the map, as has been said several times. Israel was the victim of a cold attack on October 7, of a real Jew hunt by Hamas, not a military attack. Unheard of things, I saw incredible videos. Israel has the right to attack and react, but we have always said that the response must be proportionate; there are too many civilian victims." The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, continued the head of the Farnesina, “is following the hard line, but I think that the general interest is that of a de-escalation for the entire Western world”.
Israel launches "extensive" air raids on Lebanon
The Israeli army, meanwhile, announced that the fighter jets of its Air Force they carried out “extensive raids on the Lebanon“, raising fears of an escalation between the two neighboring countries after months of daily firefights in the context of war in Gaza. The army has not yet provided further details on these raids, which come after a rocket fired from Lebanon killed a woman and injured eight other people this morning in Safed, northern Israel.
Gaza, Spain and Ireland: EU checks whether Israel respects rights
Spain and Ireland they ask the European Commission to "urgently verify" whether Israel is "respecting human rights in Gaza": the Iberian prime minister made this known on Pedro Sanchez, explaining that he himself is the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar they just sent a letter about it to Brussels. Madrid and Dublin also remember "the horror of October 7" and call for "the release of all hostages" and an immediate ceasefire" in the area, Sanchez added.
Gaza, negotiations for the Israel-Hamas truce
Meanwhile, feverish international attempts to negotiate continue a truce in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and in particular to avoid the attack on the town of Rafah, on the border of Gaza Strip with Egypt, where around 1,4 million people have taken refuge, half of the entire population of the enclave from the rest of the territory since the beginning of the conflict, 4 months ago. The heads of the US and Israeli secret services discussed yesterday in Cairo with the leader of Qatar and senior Egyptian officials, who were in contact with Hamas which thus participated indirectly, but so far without reaching an agreement. According to New York Times Negotiations between the delegations will continue for another three days. Yesterday the spokesperson of the US Security Council John Kirby He said he was optimistic about the Cairo negotiations, but provided no details. The rumors spoke of discussions on a truce of at least 6 weeks. According to an American source reported by the newspaper, one of the main obstacles is represented by the difficulty of establishing a number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in relation to the release of the Israeli hostages who are still in Gaza; on the previous occasion at the end of November, there were 3 Palestinians released from prison for every Israeli returning from the Strip. Today the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he will meet his counterpart in Cairo Egyptian Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Gaza, fears over the attack on Rafah
At an international level, there is alarm over the prospect of a large-scale attack in Rafah: the town which normally has a few hundred thousand inhabitants has been reached in recent days by refugees who have taken refuge there from the rest of the Strip, after the evacuation ordered by Israel. After announcing the offensive, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu he said he had asked for plans to evacuate civilians from the city. But many Palestinians and international aid groups say nowhere in Gaza is safe and that turning people away from Rafah, the main entry point for international aid, will only make the already catastrophic situation worse. Second the head of UN humanitarian aid Martin Griffiths, “military operations in Rafah risk causing a massacre and dealing the final blow to humanitarian aid.” The same US president Joe Biden he opposed the Israeli attack program without a credible plan for the protection of civilians. Egypt for its part, rejected the idea of welcoming refugees who would inevitably try to cross the border in Sinai: this, according to what Egyptian sources reported, would jeopardize the ten-year peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, considered an anchor of stability in Middle East; However, on Monday, reassurances arrived from Cairo on the stability of the treaty. In addition to the Cairo negotiation, there are other diplomatic paths to reduce tensions in the area: in particular, France presented a proposal to Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah for the pro-Iranian Lebanese Shiite movement and ally of Hamas to withdraw its fighters to a distance of 10 kilometers, about six miles, from the border with Israel. Yesterday the leader of the group, Hassan Nasrallah, said he will continue to fight as long as there is war in Gaza.
