Italy "continues to intervene" with "the various sides", foreign minister Antonio Tajani told MPs Wednesday, urging Israel "not to be provoked" by Iran-backed Hezbollah with whom hostilities have escalated since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.
Israel said on Wednesday it had killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an air strike on a southern suburb of Lebanon's capital, Beirut.
Lebanon's premier Najib Mikati condemned the "blatant Israeli aggression".
An Israeli reaction had been widely expected after the attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday in which 12 people - mainly children - died when a rocket hit a football pitch in Majdal Shams.
Israel has blamed Hezbollah for the deadly rocket attack, but the group denies any involvement.
"We continue to intervene with the various sides, calling for restraint and diplomatic solutions. Israel has the right to defend itself, but it must not succumb to Hezbollah provocations," Tajani stated.
Neighbouring Syria must not be forgotten "in this context of regional crisis,” Tajani said, echoing a recent call made with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg to put Syria back at the centre of the European Union's foreign policy.
"‘Our goal is a more pragmatic and proactive policy, also in order to address one of the world's gravest refugee crises," Tajani said.
