BEIRUT: Lebanon on Sunday called for an international investigation into a strike that killed 12 people, including children, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, warning of massive retaliation.
Hezbollah denied blaming Israel for Saturday's bombing of Majdal Shams, saying in a statement that “Islamic resistance has nothing to do with the incident, and We categorically deny any false claims in this regard.”
After Hezbollah's announcement, Walid Jumblatt, former head of the Progressive Socialist Party — Lebanon's most powerful Druze leader — warned of “what Israel's enemies are doing to inflame war, spread the region, and target their communities.”
His warning came as Israel carried out heavy airstrikes in the towns of Al-Abbassieh and Burj Al-Shamali near Tyre, south of Lebanon, on Sunday morning, causing widespread destruction.
It also attacked the towns of Tayr Harfa and Khiam, and targeted a residential building in Taraya, central Bekaa, with two missiles, destroying the building but causing no casualties.
The attack in Majdal Shams came hours after an Israeli attack in the southern border town of Kfarkila, in which four Hezbollah members were killed.
In a statement, the Lebanese government condemned “all acts of violence and attacks against civilians,” adding that it was “a flagrant violation of international law and contrary to the principle of – the targeting of civilians is human”.
It called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts.”
Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said in a statement on Sunday that “since the beginning of the war, Hezbollah has targeted military positions and not civilians, and I do not think that they carried out this attack in Majdal It's Shams.”
He added: “It could have been planned by another organization … an Israeli mistake or even a Hezbollah mistake, I don't know. We need an international investigation to reveal the truth.”
In a joint statement, the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the UNIFIL chief of mission and force commander Lt. General Aroldo Lazaro condemned the “death of civilians, including small children and teenagers, in Majdal Shams”, stressing that “citizens must be protected at all times”.
They urged the party to “exercise strict self-control and stop excessive firing, as it may ignite a wider fire that will burn the entire region with unimaginable danger.”
The special coordinator of the United Nations held a phone call with the speaker of the parliament Nabih Berri, who is considered the main channel of communication with Hezbollah.
According to the press office, Berri confirmed that “Lebanon and its opposition are committed to UN Resolution 1701 and the rules of engagement by refraining from civilians .
Berri added that “the opposition's refusal to participate in the Majdal Shams incident strongly reinforces this commitment and confirms that neither Lebanon nor the opposition is responsible for what happened.” .”
UNIFIL spokeswoman Andrea Tenenti said her organization was in contact with the parties to diffuse the conflict.
Jumblatt received a phone call from the US negotiator in the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, who expressed his concern about the escalation of the situation in southern Lebanon after the incident in Majdal Shams.
Jumblatt tried to spread the word, because the majority of the population of Majdal Shams are Druze.
He said that “targeting civilians, whether in occupied Palestine, the occupied Golan, or southern Lebanon, is rejected and condemned,” adding that “the history of Israel's enemies is full of civilian massacres.”
Activists and supporters on television and social media platforms denied Hezbollah's involvement in the Majdal Shams attack, noting that “no resident of Majdal Shams is targeted by the party, and it knows it.”
Hezbollah's denials were ineffective, as the Israeli army insisted on holding the party responsible for launching the rockets.
Avichay Adraee, the spokesman of the Israeli army, said: “Ali Mohammed Yahya, the commander of the air force command in the Shebaa region, ordered the firing of rockets towards the village of Majdal Shams .
The Israeli attack on Lebanon on Sunday caused massive destruction but no casualties. The two main buildings in Al-Abbassieh and Burj Al-Shemali were the targets of the attack.
Incessant attacks in the area since the start of clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have caused chaos among residents, destroying dozens of homes and buildings.
A Lebanese security source said: “Seven rounds of Israeli warplanes launched the attack at the same time.”
Adraee said the strikes hit Hezbollah targets in seven different areas across Lebanon, deep in Lebanon and the south, including weapons depots and infrastructure.
Hezbollah responded to the attack by targeting “Israeli military installations in the settlement of Manara,” according to a statement from the party.
Israeli officials continued to vow to pay Hezbollah on Sunday.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “It was a very difficult and painful experience for these children. It was a terrible tragedy. Hezbollah is responsible for this and will pay for it. “
Gallant spoke during a visit to Majdal Shams, where the victims were buried.
Israeli Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi visited Majdal Shams on Saturday evening, according to Adraee.
General Halevi looked at the affected football field, confirming the readiness for the next phase of the war in the north.
“We know exactly where the missile hit,” he said. “We checked the remains of the rocket on the wall of the football field here.
“We can say that it is a Falaq missile with a 53 kg warhead. This is a Hezbollah missile. Whoever sends such a missile into a populated area is planning to kill civilians, planning to kill children. “
Reuters reported, citing two security sources, that “Hezbollah is on high alert and has driven out some key positions in eastern and southern Lebanon.”
France and Norway called on their citizens to “not go to Lebanon and Israel” and asked those in the country to leave Lebanon.
