BEIRUT: Lebanon on Sunday called for an international investigation into an attack that killed 12 people, including children, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and warned of large-scale retaliation.
On Saturday, Hezbollah denied Israel's accusation of bombing Majdal Shams and said in a statement: “Islamic resistance has nothing to do with this incident and we categorically deny all false claims in this regard.”
After Hezbollah's statement, Walid Jumblatt, former head of the Progressive Socialist Party – the most powerful Druze leader in Lebanon – warned of “what the enemy of Israel is doing to inflame the conflict, divide the region and target its various communities”.
His warning comes at a time when Israel carried out heavy attacks on the villages of Al-Abassieh and Burj al-Shamali near Tire in southern Lebanon on Sunday morning, which caused widespread destruction.
It also attacked the border villages of Tayir Harf and Khayyam and targeted a residential building in Taraya in the center of Bekaa with two missiles which destroyed the building but caused no casualties.
The attack on Majdal Shams took place hours after the Israeli attack on the border village of Kafarkila, south of the border, in which four Hezbollah members were killed.
In a statement, the Lebanese government condemned “all acts of violence and attacks against all civilians” and added: “Targeting civilians is a clear violation of international law and against the principles of humanity.”
This organization called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts”.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said in a statement on Sunday: “Since the beginning of the war, Hezbollah has been targeting military sites and not civilians, and I don't think it carried out this attack in Majdal Shams.”
“Other organizations may be planning… an Israeli mistake or even a Hezbollah mistake, I don't know,” he added. “We need an international investigation to find out the truth.”
In a joint statement, the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis Plaschart, and the UNIFIL head of mission and force commander, Lt. Gen. Arnoldo Lazaro, condemned the “death of civilians, including young children and adolescents, in Majdal Shams” and emphasized that “Civilians” must always be protected.
They urged the parties to exercise maximum restraint and end the ongoing exchange of heavy fire as it could ignite a wider conflagration that would plunge the entire region into an unbelievable disaster.
The UN special coordinator had a telephone conversation with Nabih Berri, the speaker of the parliament, who is considered the most important channel of communication with Hezbollah.
According to his press office, Barry emphasized that Lebanon and its resistance are committed to UN Resolution 1701 and the rules of engagement by refraining from targeting civilians.
Barry added: The resistance's denial of involvement in the Majdal Shams incident strongly emphasizes this commitment and emphasizes that neither Lebanon nor the resistance is responsible for what happened.
UNIFIL spokeswoman Andrea Tennetti said her organization was in contact with the parties to ease tensions.
Jumblatt received a phone call from the American mediator in the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, who expressed concern about the escalation of the situation in the south of Lebanon after the Majdal Shams incident.
Jumblatt tried to diffuse the situation, since most of the residents of Majdal Shams are Druze.
He stated that targeting civilians in occupied Palestine, in the occupied Golan, or in southern Lebanon is rejected and condemned, adding that the history of Israel's enemy is full of killing civilians.
Activists and supporters of television networks and social networks denied Hezbollah's involvement in the Majdal Shams attack and noted: “There is no settlement in Majdal Shams that this party targets and knows it.”
Hezbollah's denial was of no use, as the Israeli military insisted that it was responsible for the rocket launch.
Avichai Adraei, the spokesperson of the Zionist regime army, said: Ali Mohammad Yahya, the commander of the launch complex in Shabaa region, issued the order to fire rockets towards the village of Majdal Shams.
Israel's attacks on Lebanon on Sunday caused massive destruction but no casualties. These attacks targeted two large hangars in al-Abassieh and Burj al-Shamali.
Regular attacks on the area since the start of clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have terrorized residents and damaged dozens of houses and apartments.
A Lebanese security source said: Seven Israeli warplanes carried out these attacks simultaneously.
Adraei claimed that these strikes hit Hezbollah targets in seven different areas across Lebanon, deep inside and south of Lebanon, including weapons depots and infrastructure.
According to the party's statement, Hezbollah responded to these attacks by targeting “the position of Israeli soldiers in the town of Manara”.
On Sunday, Israeli officials continued to promise to deal with Hezbollah.
“This is a very difficult and painful event for these children,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. This is a terrible tragedy. Hezbollah is responsible for this and will pay.”
Gallant was speaking during a visit to Majdal Shams, where the funeral of its victims was held.
According to Adraei, General Herzi Halavi, the Chief of Staff of the Zionist Army, visited Majdal Shams on Saturday evening.
General Halavi visited the damaged football field and confirmed the readiness for the next phase of the battle in the north.
“We know exactly where the missile was fired from,” he said. Here we examined the remains of the rocket on the walls of the football field.
It can be said that the Flaq missile with a warhead weighed 53 kg. This missile is Hezbollah. “Whoever fires such a missile at a populated area is intending to kill civilians, is intending to kill children.”
Hezbollah “is on full alert and has evacuated some key locations in eastern and southern Lebanon,” Reuters reported, citing two security sources.
France and Norway asked their citizens to “refrain from traveling to Lebanon and Israel” and asked the residents of this country to leave Lebanon.
