Vita gazette – Parliament approved two missions: Aspides and Levante. The first is to send security forces to the Red Sea against the Houthis. The second is that Italy will participate in the Levante mission to bring aid to the population of Gaza from the sky.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, regarding the decision, which obtained 271 favourable votes in a parliament composed of 277 seats, stated that this decision was taken after the Italian ship was attacked in the Red Sea and that thanks to this decision, the Italian ships will have the strength to defend themselves.

The Italian warship Caio Duilio shot down a drone launched by the Houthis in the strait between the Arabian Peninsula and the Cape of Good Hope.

The Aspides mission is a military operation launched by the Council of Europe against the Houthis on 19 October 2024. It aims to protect “freedom of navigation” in the Red Sea. Aspides, which means “shield” in Greek, includes military elements from France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium.

A similar operation, “Welfare Safeguard”, launched in December 2023 and managed by the United States and the United Kingdom, is also active in the Red Sea.

In addition to the Aspides mission, Parliament also approved another international mission, the Levante mission, which will include Italian resources and men. This initiative, different from Aspides, which guarantees the safety of commercial ships in the Red Sea, will limit the expansion of the ongoing conflict in Gaza at a regional level through various means.

Almost 200 men, a ship, a dozen land vehicles and the support of an aviation vehicle will be used. The objective is mainly to bring relief to the population of Gaza affected by the ongoing war. Among the operations included in the Levante mission will also be sending aid directly to the ground of the Gaza Strip via “airdrop”, therefore parachuting it.

The Levante mission will last one year until the end of 2024 and will involve using 192 units of military personnel, ten ground vehicles, a ship, and an aircraft. This operation will not be limited to the Gaza Strip alone but will also take place in Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and the Eastern Mediterranean region in general.