Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday expressed “deep concern” over Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, as Defense Minister Guido Crosetto accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of having “lost his sanity and humanity” in the war.
In a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Meloni criticized “recent Israeli decisions” that she said risk further military escalation and condemned the humanitarian situation in the enclave as “unjustifiable and unacceptable,” her office said.
Crosetto, speaking to La Stampa newspaper, argued that Israel’s campaign has strayed far from legitimate self-defense, saying “fighting terrorists is no longer an excuse” given the scale of civilian suffering. He said the occupation of Gaza and “serious acts” in the West Bank have crossed a dangerous threshold, urging measures to force Netanyahu to reconsider his course.
Crosetto also faulted European leaders for not making a symbolic visit to Gaza, as they had to Kyiv, blaming what he called Israel’s “fundamentalist and integralist stance” for the lack of dialogue.
He argued that the situation in Gaza and the West Bank has crossed a dangerous threshold.
"As you know, I think the occupation of Gaza and some serious acts in the West Bank mark a qualitative leap forward, and decisions must be made that force (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to think. And it wouldn't be a move against Israel, but a way to save those people from a government that has lost its sanity and humanity."
"We must always distinguish governments from states and peoples, as well as from the religions they profess," he said, adding that this applies to Netanyahu.
Asked why no European leaders were taking a symbolic trip to Gaza as they had to Kyiv, despite a population being "razed to the ground," Crosetto said: "Because it would find itself with a government, that of Israel, unwilling to engage in dialogue because it has adopted a fundamentalist and integralist stance."
"The legitimate defense of a democracy in the face of a terrible terrorist attack is no longer convincing. We are faced with a project of a different nature: the conquest of foreign territory while taking into account a humanitarian catastrophe," he added.
