Israel’s military says it has carried out a series of moves across Lebanon after blaming Hezbollah for Saturday’s fatal attack on the occupied Golan Heights, while its Foreign Ministry said the Lebanese had crossed a “red line,” raising fears of a regional escalation.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that its planes bombed weapons depots and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, in Shabriha and Burj al-Shemali, near the southern city of Tyre, as well as villages of Kfar Kila, Rab el-Thalathine and Khiam. and Tayr Harfa.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday blamed Hezbollah for the rocket attack on a soccer field that killed 12 people.
“Saturday’s bloodbath is the crossing of all red lines through Hezbollah. This is not an army fighting another army, but a terrorist organization intentionally shooting civilians,” the ministry said in a statement.
Hezbollah has “categorically denied” any responsibility for the attack. There have been unconfirmed allegations that a faulty Israeli interceptor missile could have been the cause of the incident.
Iran, Hezbollah’s regional best friend, warned Israel that it opposes any “new adventure related to Lebanon,” and considered the Majdal Shams incident an “excuse. “
“After 10 months of massacres in the Gaza Strip and mass killings of Palestinian youth and women, Israel’s apartheid regime is attempting to divert public opinion and global attention from its large-scale crimes in Palestine by employing a fabricated script,” Iran’s Education Ministry said. Said. Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement on Sunday, adding that Israel would be guilty of any move that could further destabilize the region.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there were “every indication” that Hezbollah was the author of the rocket attack, renewing Washington’s aid for “Israel’s right to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks. “
Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo on Sunday alongside U. S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, he said the United States needed to see the standoff escalate after the Majdal Shams incident.
“We are determined to end the fighting in Gaza. This has been going on for too long. It will cost too many lives. We need to see the Israelis, we need to see the Palestinians, we need to see the Lebanese. living free from the risk of clashes and violence,” Blinken said, adding that the United States is in contact with the Israeli government.
In a report from Beirut, Lebanon, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said the latest Israeli strikes were a message to Hezbollah, the reaction it promised.
“What we witnessed overnight was general activity, anything we have noticed in the last 10 months since Hezbollah opened a front in southern Lebanon to help the other Gazans,” he said.
According to Khodr, the Israeli reaction and whether it affects military or civilian targets may mark a “turning point” that will mark the trajectory of the border confrontation that began on October 8.
Israel’s security cabinet is expected to meet later on Sunday to discuss the reaction to the rocket attack on Majdal Shams.
In a video message posted Sunday morning at the site of the attack, Israeli army leader Herzi Halevi reiterated that an Iranian-made Falaq rocket, used by Hezbollah since border fighting began last October, he weighed 53 kilograms (116 kilograms). . pounds) a warhead hit the football field.
“It is a rocket of Hezbollah. And whoever fires a rocket of this type against an urban domain needs to kill civilians, he needs to kill children,” he said.
Halevi added that the Israeli army is “reinforcing our preparation for the next level of fighting in the north” as it continues to attack the Gaza Strip with fatal effects.
He and the commanders met with Druze leaders and network members in the area.
The United Nations, the United States and the European Union condemned the attack. The UN and EU have suggested to all parties that they exercise “restraint” in an all-out war, with the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, calling for “independent reform”. foreign investigation”.
According to the UN, more than 350 people, in addition to a hundred civilians, have been killed in repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza. Israeli officials say more than 30 people, plus 10 civilians, have been killed. in attacks from Lebanon.