'Far beyond proportionality': Italian PM condemns Israeli attacks on journalists, civilians in Gaza

CAIRO – 27 August 2025: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday condemned Israel’s “unjustifiable” killing of journalists in Gaza, stating that Israel’s attacks in response to the 7 October 2023 incident have “gone far beyond the principle of proportionality.”

Israel launched a double strike on Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on Monday, killing 22 people, including five journalists affiliated with Reuters, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera, and other outlets.

The attack adds to a death toll of nearly 63,000 Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza since the start of the war, many of them women and children, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

Among the fatalities are 247 journalists to date, according to United Nations estimates.

Israel claimed that journalists were not the target of the strike and said its forces had aimed at a camera allegedly installed by Hamas with providing evidence for their claims.

The attack has sparked global condemnation and renewed calls for accountability from the United Nations.

“It is an unacceptable attack on press freedom and on all those who courageously risk their lives to report on the tragedy of war,” Meloni said during a political conference in the beach town of Rimini, according to Reuters.

“We did not hesitate to defend Israel, but at the same time, we cannot remain silent in the face of a reaction that has gone far beyond the principle of proportionality, killing innocent victims, threatening Christian communities, and jeopardizing the historic two-state solution,” she added.

Meloni also urged Israel to end its military occupation of Gaza, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave, and halt settlement expansion in the West Bank.

Over the past week, Israel has launched a widely condemned offensive aimed at taking control of Gaza City and displacing hundreds of thousands of residents and internally displaced people sheltering there.

The five-point plan aims to also impose security control over the entire strip, a move viewed widely as a plan to reoccupy Gaza. Israel has already taken control of the majority of the enclave.

Israeli forces have killed dozens in Gaza City during strikes on neighborhoods including Sabra and Tuffah since the operation began, forcing many families to flee in terror.