Italian PM "Unacceptable UN Peacekeeping Attacks"

"It is unacceptable to target UN peacekeepers in Lebanon," Italian Prime Minister Jorja Meloni said in a visit to Lebanon.

"I once again call on all parties to work on ensuring the security of peacekeeping soldiers," Meloni said at a press conference after meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on the 18th local time.

Meloni is the first state-level official to visit Lebanon since Israeli forces launched a "Arrow to the North" military operation against Lebanon's pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah last month and launched a ground war in southern Lebanon.

The U.N. peacekeeping force consists of more than 10,000 people sent by 50 countries, with 1,068 sent by Italy, the second-highest number after Indonesia.

As Israeli forces recently attacked U.N. peacekeepers, causing a series of injuries, Meloni warned Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu by phone on the 13th that it was unacceptable.