Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday her government had suspended a defence cooperation deal with Israel, reflecting frayed ties between previously close allies as the conflicts in the Middle East continue.

Meloni’s right-wing government has been one of Israel’s closest friends in Europe, but in recent weeks it has criticised its attacks on Lebanon, which have killed hundreds and injured thousands.

Israel also fired warning shots last week at Italian troops serving in Lebanon under a UN mandate, causing damage to a vehicle.

“In light of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel,” Meloni said during a visit to Verona, northern Italy.

A source close to the matter, who requested anonymity, said Meloni took the decision on Monday with her foreign and defence ministers, Antonio Tajani and Guido Crosetto, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.

A spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry declined to comment.

Opposition had called for the suspension

Meloni’s announcement was a surprise in that it marked a shift from a previously cautious stance on Israel. The opposition had asked the government to suspend the agreement.

“We had been calling for this for some time, along with other progressive forces,” the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, said, adding Italy should also support the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Italy’s memorandum with Israel, signed in 2003 by the government of then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, entered into force in 2006 and is subject to automatic renewals every five years unless one of the parties withdraws.

It foresees Israeli-Italian cooperation to “increase their respective defence capabilities” and spans fields including procurement, training and the “import, export and transit of defence and military equipment”.

As diplomatic tensions have risen, Rome last week summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest over the incident involving Italian troops in Lebanon, then on Monday, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned the Italian ambassador “to discuss the situation in Lebanon”.

Around 250 people were missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea, the United Nations’ refugee and migration agencies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The UN agencies said the trawler carrying around 250 men, women and children reportedly sank due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding. It had departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh and was bound for Malaysia.

“This tragedy highlights the devastating human cost of protracted displacement and the continued absence of durable solutions for the Rohingya,” said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Organisation for Migration.

For years, many of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority have embarked on rickety wooden boats to try to reach neighbouring countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, in a bid to flee persecution in Myanmar or overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The agencies called on the international community to step up and sustain funding for lifesaving assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as well as support for Bangladeshi host communities.

In 2017, Myanmar’s armed forces launched an offensive that forced at least 730,000 Rohingya from their homes and into neighbouring Bangladesh, where they recounted killings, mass rape and arson. A UN fact-finding mission concluded the 2017 military offensive had included “genocidal acts”.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has denied genocide, and says the UN fact-finding mission was not objective or reliable.

At least two ships sailing from Iranian ports crossed the Strait of Hormuz despite a blockade threat by the US military, maritime tracking reports have indicated.

The ships were among at least four Iran-linked vessels that used the route after Washington’s threat, according to maritime data provider Kpler.

The Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Christianna crossed after unloading 74,000 tons of corn at the Iranian port of Bandar Imam Khomeini, passing Iran’s Larak Island in the strait around 1600 GMT on April 13, Kpler data showed.

A second ship, the Comoros-flagged tanker Elpis, was near Larak Island around 1100 GMT and cleared the strait about 1600 GMT. It was loaded with 31,000 tons of methanol, having left the Iranian port of Bushehr on March 31, Kpler data showed.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) had threatened the blockade would target “vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas”.

A Chinese tanker, the Rich Starry, also crossed the Strait overnight via the Iranian-approved vetting route south of Larak Island.

Maritime analysts have cautioned that signals from ships in the region have been disrupted and manipulated, making precise tracking difficult.

Iran imposed restrictions on the passage of vessels in the Strait following the illegal US-Israeli war of aggression on February 28.

The administration of Donald Trump said over the weekend it would impose a blockade on Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman. The US military claimed the blockade took effect on Monday.

The IRGC warned that any military vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz would breach a fragile ceasefire that halted 40 days of intense fighting last week. Iran’s central military command also warned of a broader regional response if Iranian ports come under attack.