BEIRUT: Lebanon on Sunday called for an international investigation into an attack that killed 12 people, including children, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, warning of a large-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 any 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 Israeli enemy is doing to ignite strife, divide the region and target its various communities.”
His warning came as Israel on Sunday morning carried out intensive raids on the villages of Al-Abbassieh and Burj Al-Shamali near Tyre, southern Lebanon, causing widespread destruction.
It also raided 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 attack in Majdal Shams 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 “targeting civilians is a flagrant violation of international law and 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 a mistake on the part of Hezbollah, I don't know. We need international investigation to reveal the truth.”
In a joint statement, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and UNIFIL mission chief and force commander Lieutenant General Aroldo Lazaro condemned “the death of civilians, including young children and teenagers, in Majdal Shams”, stressing that “civilians must be protected throughout the time.”
They “urged the parties to exercise maximum restraint and to put an end to the ongoing intensified exchanges of fire, as they could ignite a wider conflagration that would engulf the entire region in an incredible catastrophe.”
The UN Special Coordinator held a telephone conversation with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is considered the main channel of communication with Hezbollah.
According to his press office, Berri confirmed that “Lebanon and its resistance are committed to 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 strongly confirms this commitment and underlines 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 diffuse the tension.
Jumblatt received a phone call from the US mediator for the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, who expressed concern about the escalating situation on the southern Lebanese front following the Majdal Shams incident.
Jumblatt tried to diffuse the situation, as most of Majdal Sham's residents are Druze.
He said that “targeting civilians is rejected and condemned, whether in occupied Palestine, the occupied Golan or in southern Lebanon,” adding that “the history of the Israeli enemy is replete with 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 for the party to target, and it knows it.”
Hezbollah's denials were of no avail, as the Israeli army insisted on holding the party responsible for firing the rocket.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said: “Ali Mohammed Yahya, the commander of the launch complex in the Shebaa area, ordered the firing of rockets at the village of Majdal Shams.”
The Israeli raids on Lebanon on Sunday caused massive destruction but resulted in no human casualties. The raids targeted two large hangars in Al-Abbassieh and Burj Al-Shemali.
The regular raids on the area since the start of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have caused panic among residents and damaged dozens of houses and apartments.
A Lebanese security source said: “Seven Israeli warplanes carried out raids simultaneously.”
Adraee claimed the raid hit Hezbollah targets in seven different areas across Lebanon, deep into Lebanon and its south, including weapons caches and infrastructure.
Hezbollah responded to the attacks by targeting “the positioning of Israeli soldiers in the Manara settlement,” according to a statement from the party.
Israeli officials continued on Sunday to promise that Hezbollah will 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 it will pay.”
Gallant was speaking during a visit to Majdal Shams, where funeral processions were held for its victims.
Israel's Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi visited Majdal Shams on Saturday night, according to Adraee.
General Halevi inspected the football field that was hit and confirmed the readiness for the next phase of the battle in the north.
“We know exactly where the rocket 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 rocket with a warhead weighing 53 kg. This is a Hezbollah rocket. 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 locations in eastern and southern Lebanon.”
France and Norway urged their citizens “to avoid traveling to Lebanon and Israel” and asked those in the country to leave Lebanon.
