ROME 

Israel should not attack Rafah and wait for a cease-fire, which cannot be unilateral, the Italian deputy prime minister and foreign minister said Friday.

Antonio Tajani held a news conference after he landed in Germany late Friday to attend the 60th Munich Security Conference and said foreign ministers of G7 countries will hold their first meeting on Saturday under the Italian presidency as part of the Conference.

He stressed that G7 countries could move toward a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip for the release of hostages.

“If Hamas also wants the good of its people, it must stop all acts of war and release the hostages,” he said. “Without their release, any negotiations are difficult.”

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The ensuing Israeli attack has killed at least 28,775, injured more than 68,552 others, and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Less than 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Death of Russian opposition leader

Turning to the reported death on Friday of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Tajani pointed out foreign ministers will look at whether the death in prison in Russia will be included in a joint statement by G7 countries.

"It seems to me that there is a concern in the G7 about Navalny's death and we all condemn what happened," he said.

The foreign minister expressed hope that the truth about the death would emerge.

"If we thought he died of cold, we would not want this to be investigated,” he said. “The suspicion is that something is wrong and the Kremlin definitely has responsibilities.”

Tajani underlined that Ukraine's freedom is of fundamental importance.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 after a hospital stay in Germany, where he was being treated for poisoning. Western countries and Navalny blamed Russia for the poisoning, a claim the Kremlin denies.​​​​​​​

In August, he was handed a 19-year prison sentence on charges of extremism, and other crimes. He was already serving a more than 11-year sentence on fraud charges.

*Writing by Merve Berker