MILAN (AP) — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza as disproportionate on Wednesday, saying there have been “too many innocent victims” during the nearly two-year-old war sparked by a Hamas-led attack.
Meloni, in a wide-ranging speech to a political conference in Rimini, on the Adriatic Sea coast, reiterated Italy’s support for Israel’s right to self-defense following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
“However, at the same time, we cannot remain silent now, in the face of a reaction that has gone beyond the principle of proportionality,’’ she said, adding that the continued attacks were putting at risk “the historic prospect” of a two-state solution.
She cited the killing of five journalists in Gaza on Monday, which she said was “an unacceptable attack on freedom of the press and all those with the courage to risk their lives to recount the drama of war.”
The journalists, including a freelance photographer who worked for The Associated Press, were among 20 people killed in two strikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Meloni called on the international community to “put all possible pressure on Hamas until they release the Israeli hostages still held,” while calling on Israel to stop military attacks in Gaza, allow the flow of humanitarian aid, and end the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
More than 60,000 Palestinians were killed through the end of July during the Israel-Hamas war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, saying the militants operate in populated areas.
The world’s leading authority on food crises said last week the Gaza Strip’s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it’s likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Hamas-led militants took 251 people hostage in the Oct. 7 attack and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. Fifty hostages are still in Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.
Meloni said Italy is the European country that has taken the biggest humanitarian role in the conflict, treating more Gazans needing medical care than any other non-Muslim country. More than 180 children from Gaza have been evacuated to Italy for medical treatment, along with family members, bringing to 917 the total number of Palestinians from Gaza brought to Italy since the start of the war.
