No Italian forces were caught in the crossfire of Tuesday’s clashes between Israeli and Lebanese forces along their common border, Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said.

One Israeli and three Lebanese soldiers, as well as a Lebanese journalist, were reported killed in the most serious border incident since Israel’s 2006 offensive against the Hezbollah paramilitary organization, which ended with the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force in which Italy has taken part. Italy has no intention of unilaterally pulling out of the UNIFIL mission, which it at one point led, "but all parties involved must understand that our presence there is not indefinite," La Russa said. Both Israel and Lebanon, the defence minister added, "must understand that it is up to them to create the conditions for a stable and lasting peace". According to La Russa, the greatest danger in Lebanon "is not that the situation there will deteriorate but that the status quo will continue indefinitely". In regard to Tuesday’s clashes, La Russia said they "appear to have been sparked by a casual incident".

"What this shows is that the situation in Lebanon remains extremely precarious. What is lacking is that final step which the parties involved do not appear to be able to take, either because they can’t or don’t want to, to transform a truce into a lasting peace," the minister said.

"These events also make it clear that no international mission is simple, even if some described this one as a ‘walk in the park’. Problems always exist and some put to the test the professional proficiency of our soldiers there," he added. According to the defence minister, the clashes broke out when Lebanese forces tried to stop Israeli troops from cutting trees in the demarcation zone in order to install surveillance cameras. Israel has placed full blame on the Lebanese, saying its troops had been operating in accordance with UNIFIL, and accused Beirut of allowing Hezbollah to rearm in violation of the UN Resolution 1701. Lebanon, on the other hand, said it was Israel which had blatantly violated the truce accord and has asked the international community to intervene. Italy at one point had 2,500 men in the UNIFIL mission but it has been reducing its presence in order to boost its contingent in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, to respect its commitment to US President Barack Obama’s surge against the Taliban. In regard to Afghanistan, La Russa said he hoped the current exit strategy could be respected to allow Italy force to complete their withdrawal by the end of 2013.