Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio on Wednesday deplored the 'indiscriminate' barrage of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel amid the worst violence between it and Hamas since 2014.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Rome after talks with his German counterpart Heiko Maas, Di Maio urged Israelis and Palestinians to de-escalate the violence.
"The indiscriminate launching of rockets is unacceptable in any circumstances and must cease," said Di Maio.
"Italy is deeply concerned by the spiralling attacks and violence that is unfolding in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Israel," he said.
Di Maio also expressed "condolences" and "solidarity" for the 48 Palestinians (including 14 children) and six Israelis reported killed in this week's violence in which over 300 people have been injured.
"The priority now is to avoid further loss of life and for this reason we urge all sides to undertake immediate de-escalation measures and to act with utmost moderation," Di Maio underlined.
Italy "strongly condemns" the (more than 100) rockets fired from the Gaza Strip against the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv and nearby areas overnight, Di Maio said.
An Israeli Arab father and his daughter were killed in the town of Lod some 10 kilometres southeast of Tel Aviv by a rocket fired from Gaza early on Wednesday.
