BEIRUT: Lebanon on Sunday called for an international investigation into a strike that killed 12 people, including children, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, warning against a full-scale retaliation.
Hezbollah rejected Israel's accusation that it bombed Majdal Shams on Saturday, saying in a statement that “The Islamic Resistance has nothing to do with the incident and we categorically deny all false claims in this regard.”
After Hezbollah's statement, Walid Jumblatt, the former head of the Progressive Socialist Party – Lebanon's most powerful Druze leader – warned against “what the Israeli enemy is doing to ignite conflicts, fragment the region and target its various communities”.
His warning came as Israel carried out heavy raids on the villages of Al-Abbassieh and Burj Al-Shamali near Tire in southern Lebanon on Sunday morning, causing widespread destruction.
It also attacked the border villages 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 Majdal Shams attack came hours after an Israeli raid on the southern border village of Kfarkila in which four Hezbollah members were killed.
In a statement, the Lebanese government condemned “all acts of violence and attacks against all civilians,” adding that “the targeting of civilians is a flagrant violation of international law and goes against the principles of humanity.”
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 sites and not civilians, and I do not believe it carried out this attack in Majdal Shams.”
He added: “It could be planned by other organizations … an Israeli mistake or even an error on the part of Hezbollah, I don't know. We need international investigations to uncover the truth.”
In a joint statement, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and UNIFIL head of mission and force commander General Aroldo Lazaro condemned “the deaths of civilians, including young children and teenagers, in Majdal Shams”, stressing that ” civilians” must be protected at all times.”
They urged “the parties to exercise maximum restraint and end the ongoing heavy firefights as it could trigger a wider conflagration that would engulf the entire region in an unbelievable catastrophe.”
The UN Special Coordinator held a telephone conversation with the Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri, who is considered the most important channel of communication with Hezbollah.
According to his press office, Berri stated that “Lebanon and its resistance are committed to complying with UN Resolution 1701 and the rules of engagement by refraining from targeting civilians.”
Berri added that “the resistance's denial of involvement in the Majdal Shams incident firmly reaffirms this commitment and emphasizes that neither Lebanon nor the resistance is responsible for what happened.”
UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said his organization was in contact with the parties to reduce tension.
Jumblatt received a phone call from US Middle East mediator Amos Hochstein, who expressed concern about the escalation of the situation on Lebanon's southern front after the Majdal Shams incident.
Jumblatt tried to defuse the situation since most of the residents of Majdal Shams are Druze.
He said that “the targeting of civilians is rejected and condemned, whether it is in occupied Palestine, the occupied Golan or southern Lebanon,” adding that “the history of the Israeli enemy is full of massacres against civilians.”
Activists and supporters on TV channels and social media platforms denied Hezbollah's involvement in the Majdal Shams attack, noting that “there are no settlers in Majdal Shams that the party is targeting and they know it.”
Hezbollah's denial was in vain as the Israeli military insisted on firing the party responsible for the rocket launch.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said: “Ali Mohammed Yahya, the commander of the launch complex in the Shebaa area, ordered rockets to be fired at the village of Majdal Shams.”
Israeli raids in Lebanon on Sunday caused enormous destruction but resulted in no human casualties. The raids targeted two large hangars in Al-Abbassieh and Burj Al-Shemali.
Regular raids in the area since the start of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have caused panic among residents, destroying dozens of houses and apartments.
A Lebanese security source said: “Seven Israeli warplanes carried out the raids simultaneously.”
Adraee claimed that the raids hit Hezbollah targets in seven different areas of Lebanon, deep in Lebanon and its south, including weapons depots and infrastructure.
Hezbollah responded to the attacks targeting “the positioning of Israeli soldiers in the settlement of Manara,” according to a statement from the party.
Israeli officials continued on Sunday to vow to make Hezbollah pay.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “This is a very difficult and painful event for these children. It is a terrible tragedy. Hezbollah is responsible for this and will pay.”
Gallant was speaking during a visit to Majdal Shams, where funeral processions were held for its victims.
Israeli Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi visited Majdal Shams on Saturday evening, according to Adraee.
General Halevi inspected the football pitch that was hit, confirming the readiness for the next phase of fighting in the north.
“We know exactly where the missile was fired from,” he said. “We examined the remains of the rocket on the walls of the football field here.
“We can say that it was a Falaq missile with a warhead weighing 53 kg. This is a Hezbollah missile. Whoever fires such a rocket at a populated area intends to kill civilians, intends to kill children.”
Reuters reported, citing two security sources, that Hezbollah “is on high alert and has evacuated some key places in eastern and southern Lebanon.”
France and Norway asked their citizens to “avoid traveling to Lebanon and Israel” and asked those in the country to leave Lebanon.
