Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that she and two of her ministers had been reported to the International Criminal Court for alleged complicity in genocide concerning the Israeli war on Gaza, in a statement made on Tuesday.

Speaking in an interview with state television broadcaster RAI, Meloni stated that Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had been denounced, adding that she believed Roberto Cingolani, the head of the defense group Leonardo, was also implicated.

"I don't believe there is another case like this in the world or in history," the Italian president said, without elaborating on who brought the case against her.

Meloni said she was "amazed" by the accusation of complicity in genocide because "anyone who knows the situation is aware that Italy has not authorised new, let's say, arms supplies to Israel after October 7."

In response to her remarks, a Leonardo spokesperson said that Cingolani had already expressed the company's position in an interview with the daily Corriere della Sera last month when he said the suggestion that it was complicit in genocide was "a very serious frame-up."

Leonardo's complicity in genocide 

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Leonardo S.p.A., an Italian aerospace and defense corporation partly owned by the Italian state, has longstanding ties with the Israeli military-industrial sector. Critics say that these connections, through arms supplies, joint projects, and technology transfers, render the company, and by extension certain Italian officials, complicit in grave violations of international law in Gaza.

Key links between Leonardo and Israeli defense

1- Naval guns for the Israeli navy:

• Leonardo manufactures the OTO 76/62 Super Rapido naval gun, used on Sa’ar 4.5, Sa’ar 5, and Sa’ar 6 class warships in the Israeli Navy.
• In September 2022, four such guns were delivered for the Sa’ar 6 corvettes. Their first operational use in Gaza operations was reported in October 2023.

2 - Aircraft & training systems

• Leonardo has supplied "Israel" with M-346 Lavi training aircraft and AW119Kx training helicopters. These are used for pilot training and are equipped or upgraded to undertake air-to-air or air-to-ground missions.
• There are reports of upgrade programs that could convert some training aircraft into light combat configurations.

3 - Technology and innovation partnerships

• Leonardo has international research & innovation agreements with the Israeli Innovation Authority and Ramot (Tel Aviv University’s tech transfer arm). These cover high-tech fields, including military, cybersecurity, aeronautics, and intelligence used in genocide.
• It has acquired RADA Electronic Industries (an Israeli radar systems company) via its DRS group, which strengthens its technological footprint in "Israel" and expands its involvement in systems relevant to air defense and short-range sensor/radar technologies.

4 - Other supplies & joint ventures

• Subsidiary DRS Sustainment Systems (part of Leonardo) supplies heavy tank trailers under contract to the Israeli military.
• Leonardo is involved in joint ventures and defense projects that, while not always explicitly with Israeli firms, enhance its overall military capacity. These make Leonardo’s Israeli ties part of a broader defense industrial complex whose output may be used in the Gaza genocide.

Italians push back

Italy has been witnessing increasing action in response to the Israeli war on Gaza, which has so far killed more than 67,000 people since October 7, 2023.

Last week, thousands of people took to the streets in Rome, Milan, and other cities to protest what they described as "Israel's" hijacking of the Gaza-bound fleet and the detainment of dozens of Italians and other nationals.

In Rome, a rally of around 20,000 protesters, many of whom were students, gathered outside the Termini train station, waving Palestinian flags, chanting "Free Palestine!", and marching from the Colosseum with a banner that read: "Against Genocide. Let's block everything."

Organizers estimated that 50,000 people turned out in Milan, where a US flag was reportedly set on fire, while demonstrations also erupted in Bologna, with more than 10,000 people taking to the streets. Florence, Naples, Turin, and Sicily were also the venues of similar protests.