Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday that Italy has suspended the automatic renewal of its defense agreement with Israel, a bilateral pact that has governed military cooperation between the two countries for nearly two decades. "In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel," Meloni said on the sidelines of an event in Verona.

The defense agreement was originally approved in 2006 and is structured to renew automatically every five years. It involves the exchange of military equipment and technology research, and calls for cooperation across defense industries, education and training of military personnel, research and development, and information technology.

Meloni's right-wing government has been one of Israel's closest allies in Europe, but the Italian government has criticized Israeli attacks on Lebanon in recent weeks. The government also accused Israeli forces of firing warning shots at a convoy of Italian peacekeepers stationed in Lebanon. The incident damaged at least one vehicle and caused no injuries. Italy subsequently summoned Israel's ambassador in protest over the firing on its peacekeepers.

On Monday, one day before Meloni's announcement, Israel summoned Italy's ambassador. Also on Monday, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani traveled to Beirut for talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi. Tajani condemned what he described as "unacceptable attacks" on Lebanese civilians by Israeli forces, and wrote on X that he was in Beirut to convey Italy's solidarity following Israeli attacks on the civilian population. There was no immediate reaction from the Israeli government after Tuesday's announcement.