Foreign ministers from the world’s leading industrialized nations met Monday, with the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine entering decisive phases and a certain pressure to advance diplomatic efforts ahead of the new U.S. administration taking over. Hopes for brokering a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon were foremost on the agenda of the Group of Seven meeting outside Rome that gathered ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the last G7 encounter of the Blinken administration. As the G7 ministers arrived in Italy, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Mike Herzog, told Israeli Army Radio on Monday a ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah could be reached “within days.” Ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League, were joining the G7 in the afternoon. Several intervened at a related event in Rome to call for an urgent end to Israel’s strikes in Gaza and Lebanon, following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. “We need a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire. That will stop the killings and stop the destruction and restore a sense of normalcy,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told the “Mediterranean Dialogues” conference organized by the Italian foreign ministry and ISPI think tank. The so-called “Quintet” grouping of the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the UAE will formally meet with the G7 ministers later in the day, and has been working to finalize a “day after” plan for Gaza. There is some urgency to make progress before the Trump administration takes over in January. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pursue a policy that strongly favors Israel over the aspirations of the Palestinians. Host Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani added another item to the G7 agenda last week after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief. Italy is a founding member of the court and hosted the 1998 Rome conference that gave birth to it. But Italy’s right-wing government has been a strong supporter of Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, while also providing humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza. The Italian government has taken a cautious line, reaffirming its support and respect for the court but expressing concern that the warrants were politically motivated. “There can be no equivalence between the responsibilities of the state of Israel and the terrorist organization of Hamas,” Premier Giorgia Meloni said, echoing the statement from U.S. President Joe Biden. Nathalie Tocci, director of the Rome-based Institute for International Affairs think tank, said Italy would be seeking to forge a united front on the ICC warrants, at least among the six G7 countries that are signatories of the court: everyone but the U.S. But in an essay this weekend in La Stampa newspaper, Tocci warned it was a risky move, since the U.S. tends to dictate the G7 line and has blasted the ICC warrants against Netanyahu as “outrageous.” “If Italy and the other (five G7) signatories of the ICC are unable to maintain the line on international law, they will not only erode it anyway but will be acting against our interests,” Tocci wrote, recalling Italy’s recourse to international law […]