On Monday, December 27th 2010, the Italian Chief of Defense, General Vincenzo Camporini met with IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi in Tel Aviv.

The two officials discussed the cooperation and mutual interests that exist between the Italian and Israeli militaries, as the Italian Armed Forces is one of the largest contributors to UNIFIL, the peacekeeping force in Southern Lebanon.

The IDF Chief of Staff also addressed the recent increase in the firing of rockets from terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, holding Hamas solely responsible for the attacks.