Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has arrived in Lebanon to meet with Lebanese government officials and to visit Italian troops with the Unifil peacekeeping mission who came under attack during Israel’s offensive in the south of the country, Al Jazeera reports.

Crosetto said Unifil was “essential for peace and stability in Lebanon”, but the military peacekeeping mission must “update its rules of engagement”, according to Italy’s Ansa news agency.

In tandem with the empowering of Unifil, the Lebanese national army requires financial support, training and equipment in order to be stronger than Hezbollah’s armed forces in the country, Al Jazeera quoted the minister as saying.

“The stability of the entire area, not just Lebanon, will only become a concrete reality when the Armed Forces are stronger than Hezbollah and able to defend their country,” he said.