Italy Halts Arms Supplies to Israel After War in Gaza Began

ROME (Sputnik) - Italy has halted supplying arms to Israel after the conflict between the Jewish state and Palestinian movement Hamas escalated, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said.

Tajani commented on remarks by Italy's opposition Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein, who earlier called on the government to stop arms supplies to the Middle East, "especially to Israel," so as not to fuel the ongoing conflicts there.

"Italy has stopped sending any kind of weapons to Israel since the beginning of the Gaza war. It's all blocked. The period when the most weapons were sent to Israel was during the premiership of [former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe] Conte. But with the outbreak of hostilities, we suspended all deliveries of weapons systems and military equipment of any kind," Tajani said in an interview with Italian newspaper Quotidiano Nazionale, published on Friday.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip, while its fighters breached the border, opening fire on the military and civilians. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 24,900 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.

On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1.