Locked in bunkers, wearing helmets and protective vests, they hear continuous bombings and artillery fire .

The war in Lebanon is getting ever closer to the Sassari Brigade and its 1,200 men, who have been leading the contingent of the Unifil mission since August.

" The war has never been so close to us, but for the moment the situation is manageable ," explain the blue helmets.

Israeli tanks have crossed the Blue Line on the border and reached the territories where the Dimonios operate, thus violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the cornerstone of an apparent truce between the two countries that has lasted almost twenty years.

" We hear continuous bombings from dozens of kilometers away and the alert oscillates between level 2 and level 3 of alarm, which is the officially maximum ." There are no lookouts in the bases, what happens outside is learned from other sources, given that the peremptory order of the sirens - for the entire Italian contingent in the western sector in the mountains at Shama, Naqoura and on the coast - is the safe shelter. " We wear helmets and protective jackets - the soldiers explain - We enter the bunkers more and more often and other times we simply limit operations to the minimum ."

Precautionary measures, Defense sources specify, because Unifil is not the target and Tajani himself has received guarantees from his Israeli counterpart that the peacekeepers will be kept out of the clashes.

(Online Union)

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