JAKARTA - Italy's Ministry of Defense on Wednesday said 16 EU countries that contributed to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon believed its engagement rules needed to be more effective.
Since Israel's ground operations against Hezbollah militants began on October 1, UNIFIL's position has been attacked and two Israeli tanks broke through the gates of one of its bases, the United Nations said.
In addition, five peacekeepers were also injured in Israeli attacks, including two soldiers from Indonesia.
The countries, including Spain, Italy and France, contributed more than a third of UNIFIL's total troops and recent incidents have raised concerns among European governments.
Their defense minister spoke via video call on Wednesday to assess the current situation, how to increase troop protection, and to see options for troops if a ceasefire is realized, including troop numbers, equipment, and mission posture on the ground, diplomats said.
"It is also stated firmly that the rules for engagement need to be revised so that UNIFIL can operate more effectively and safely," the Italian Ministry of Defense said in a statement, without elaborating.
He added that the 16 countries have shown a desire to put maximum political and diplomatic pressure on Israel so that further incidents do not occur.
The French Ministry of Defense's statement made no concrete conclusion at the meeting, in addition to simply repeating the existing position and saying all parties would not "manage the United Nations army to be targeted or exploited in a conflict that must be stopped immediately".
Speaking to Reuters, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, whose country has about 160 troops on land, said one of the main challenges for UNIFIL is resupply food and equipment for troops amid the deteriorating situation.
He also said that dealing with troop rotation was also a problem.
"However, I believe the fact that the United Nations, the international community has ears and eyes in southern Lebanon remains indispensable," he said.
Quoted from the UNIFIL website, the number of peacekeepers who joined the mission until September 2, 2024 amounted to 10,058 people from 50 countries.
Indonesia became the largest contributor with 1,231 personnel, followed by Italy with 1,068 personnel. There are India (903), Nepal (76) and Ghana complement the top five countries with the highest number of personnel at UNIFIL.
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