ROME

Italy is ready to send peacekeepers to the Gaza Strip if needed, the nation’s foreign minister said Friday.

Over a thousand Italian military staff are already taking part in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Radio24.

"Should a peace mission be needed in Gaza, we are ready to send our military personnel as UN peacekeepers," he explained.

He added that the US has yet to request any expansion of the Lebanese mission.

He added that next Monday in Brussels, at an EU foreign affairs council meeting, he will speak about maritime security in the Red Sea region.

Italy supports the creation of a EU mission to ensure maritime security in the Red Sea, Tajani added.

The US and UK have carried out strikes on multiple Houthi targets and bases in Yemen in response to the Yemeni group’s ongoing attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, said to be a measure against Israel’s deadly onslaught in Gaza.

The Red Sea is one of the world's most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments. It is used to transit between Egypt's Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aden, allowing ships to avoid the much costlier and longer route across the southern coast of Africa.