<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Spanish Government has reiterated its condemnation of the attacks against the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in this case the one carried out this Friday by the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah against the headquarters of the mission in Shama, in which four Italian soldiers were injured.</strong></h4> Four Italian soldiers were slightly injured at the headquarters of the mission by the impact of two 122 mm rockets allegedly fired by Hezbollah. According to the first reconstructions, the rockets hit a bunker and the premises near the international police. The attack has been condemned by the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani. “Just as we told Israel to pay maximum attention and avoid projectiles or artillery fire against our base, in the same firm way we also tell Hezbollah,” said Tajani. In its statement, the Spanish government demands that the parties “respect the troops and the installations of UNIFIL,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned in a statement. “Their security must be guaranteed,” it added. “Attacks on peacekeeping operations are a very serious violation of International Humanitarian Law and Security Council Resolution 1701,” the government warned. “The Spanish government remains committed to the stability of Lebanon and to the full implementation of Resolution 1701,” it concluded. Last October, Spain condemned on three occasions the attacks carried out by the Israeli Army against the UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqura and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the chargé d'affaires of the Israeli Embassy in Madrid to convey its complaint on this matter. Around the same time, the Italian Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, urgently summoned the Israeli ambassador in Italy after an attack against UNIFIL. The mission has about 1,200 Italian soldiers in its ranks. On October 15, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called an emergency meeting with troop-contributing countries to UNIFIL to discuss the situation on the ground following the Israeli attacks. Two days earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that Guterres withdraw from UNIFIL, considering that its troops have become “human shields” for the Shiite militias of Hezbollah. Spain has participated in the mission since 2006 with some 650 soldiers integrated into Operation Libre Hidalgo, most of them stationed in Marjayoun, in southeastern Lebanon. Since 2022, Spanish Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro has been in command of the international contingent, in which more than 10,500 blue helmets from 40 countries are deployed.
