Lebanon Calls for International Probe into Deadly Golan Strike

Lebanon has requested an international investigation into a strike that killed 12 people, including children, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, cautioning against a large-scale retaliation.

The Israeli military reported that Hezbollah fired an Iranian-made rocket on Saturday, which hit a football field in Majdal Shams, a Druze Arab town, resulting in the deaths of children and teenagers.

Hezbollah, while claiming responsibility for multiple attacks on Israeli military positions that day, denied involvement in the Majdal Shams strike, stating it had “no connection” to the incident.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, in a statement on X, called for an “international investigation or a meeting of the tripartite committee through UNIFIL to determine the truth” about the responsible party.

The tripartite committee includes military officials from Lebanon and Israel, who are technically at war, along with peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Bou Habib, in a statement issued by the foreign ministry, suggested the Majdal Shams strike might have been carried out by other organizations or resulted from an Israeli error or a mistake by Hezbollah. He emphasized that Hezbollah targets only military positions and ruled out their intentional attack on civilians in Majdal Shams.

The statement, reported by the state-run National News Agency, also mentioned Bou Habib’s call for the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. This resolution, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, mandates that the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers be the sole armed forces in south Lebanon.

Bou Habib warned that a large-scale Israeli attack on Lebanon could deteriorate the regional situation and spark a regional war.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed on Sunday to “hit the enemy hard” following the Majdal Shams strike. Meanwhile, Iran warned Israel that any new military “adventures” in Lebanon could lead to “unforeseen consequences.”

Hezbollah stated that its cross-border strikes, which began the day after Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, are in support of Gazans and ally Hamas. On Sunday afternoon, Hezbollah announced another attack on an Israeli position in response to Israeli attacks on south Lebanon villages and homes.

The cross-border violence since October has resulted in at least 527 deaths in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including 104 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, 22 soldiers and 24 civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.