From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 25, 2024
Katz asks Italian counterpart to lean on Lebanon against Hezbollah
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Foreign Minister Israel Katz meets his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani in Jerusalem, and asks for Rome’s assistance in finding a diplomatic solution to Hezbollah’s presence on Israel’s northern border.
“I requested his intervention vis-a-vis the Lebanese government to oust Hezbollah from southern Lebanon,” Katz tweets, “or else Lebanon will face a devastating blow it won’t recover from.”
Katz also says he told Tajani that Israel has no choice but to complete its mission in Gaza of bringing the hostages back and “neutralizing” Hamas.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the two agreed to work to renew flights from Italy to Israel, which were halted by the war against Hamas.
Tajani says that the two sides agreed to “strengthen joint humanitarian initiatives,” and that Rome is ready to treat 100 Gazan children in Italy.
The diplomats also meet with families of hostages.
Earlier this week Tajani, who is also deputy prime minister, revealed that Italy suspended weapons shipments to Israel after October 7.
