>>>ANSA/Four Italians hurt as UNIFIL base in Lebanon hit

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 22 - Four Italian soldiers were hurt, none seriously, after a UNIFIL base in Lebanon was hit by rocket fires Friday.
    The men are not in a life-threatening condition, local sources said.
    The Shama base was hit by two rockets launched by Hezbollah, one of which hit the outside of the bunker, whose structure did not collapse.
    Some of the soldiers were hit by glass and stone fragments and were slightly injured.
    Traces of at least one 122-millimeter rocket, which is not in service with the Israeli army, were found on site.
    The four soldiers from the Sassari Brigade, all Sardinians, are fine, ANSA sources said.
    The 'Sassarini' are not in hospital and have already spoken to their families, reassuring them that they are OK.
    The names and places of origin of the four soldiers have not been disclosed.
    An Italian UNIFIL base was recently hit by eight Hezbollah rockets and five peacekeepers had to go to the infirmary but no one was seriously hurt.
    Premier Giorgia Meloni voiced "deep indignation" after the latest attack.
    "I learned with deep indignation and concern the news of the new attacks suffered by the Italian headquarters of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, which also caused the wounding of some of our soldiers engaged in a peacekeeping mission," she said.
    "I would like to express my solidarity and closeness and that of the Government to the injured, to their families and sincere gratitude for the activity carried out daily by the entire Italian contingent in Lebanon.
    "I reiterate once again that such attacks are unacceptable and I renew my appeal for the parties on the ground to guarantee, at all times, the safety of UNIFIL soldiers and to collaborate to quickly identify those responsible".
    Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Italy's UNIFIL contingent is staying in Lebanon but it can't be the hostage to Lebanese militia.
    "I immediately contacted the commander of the contingent, Stefano Messina, to check on the conditions of the four soldiers, which are not causing concern," said Crosetto.
    "I also contacted my Lebanese counterpart, reiterating that the Italian contingent of Unifil remains in southern Lebanon to offer a window of opportunity for peace and cannot become hostage to attacks by the militias.
    "It is intolerable that once again a UNIFIL base has been hit. I will try to speak with the new Israeli Defense Minister, which has been impossible since he took office, to ask him to avoid using UNIFIL bases as a shield.
    "Even more intolerable is the presence of terrorists in South Lebanon who are endangering the safety of the UN peacekeepers and the civilian population." Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said "they were two missiles, from what we can see, launched by Hezbollah.
    "Once again what is happening is unacceptable and just as we told Israel to pay maximum attention, so we tell Hezbollah with the same firmness that the Italian military cannot be touched.
    "If they think they can continue to cause damage to Italian bases, they are wrong.
    "It seems that no one has serious injuries, they are only grazes and a lieutenant seems to have light injuries. None of them are in danger but what happened is intolerable" Also on Friday, Premier Giorgia Meloni said she would "evaluate" the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Gaza against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but there could be "no equivalence" between Israel and Hamas.
    "I will examine in depth in the coming days the motivations that led to the sentence of the International Criminal Court," she said after the ICC issued warrants against Netanyahu, his former defence minister and the (disputedly) late head of Hamas.
    "Motivations should always be objective and not of a political nature.
    "The Italian Presidency of the G7 intends to place the issue on the agenda of the next Foreign Affairs Ministerial to be held in Fiuggi from November 25 to 26.
    "One point remains firm for this government: there cannot be an equivalence between the responsibilities of the State of Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas".
    Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini said Netanyahu would be welcome in Italy, echoing his and Meloni's friend and ally Viktor Orban of Hungary who invited the Israeli prime minister to Budapest saying he was challenging the ICC sentence.
    Outgoing US President Joe Biden called the arrest warrant "scandalous".
    The ICC on Thursday issued the warrants for Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant over the Gaza war and against Hamas's late military chief Mohammed Deif over the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks that sparked the Israeli reprisal.
    Israel says it killed Deif in July but Hamas denies this.
    (ANSA).