The Israeli military says it carried out a series of strikes across Lebanon after blaming Hezbollah for Saturday’s deadly attack in the occupied Golan Heights, as its foreign ministry said the Lebanese group had crossed a “red line”, raising fears of regional escalation.
The Israeli military said on Sunday its jets bombed weapons depots and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, in Shabriha and Burj el-Shemali near the southern city of Tyre, and the villages of Kafr Lila or Kfar Kila, Rab el-Thalathine, Khiam and Tayr Harfa.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday blamed Hezbollah for the rocket attack on a football ground that killed 12 people.
“Saturday’s massacre constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah. This is not an army fighting another army, rather it is a terrorist organisation deliberately shooting at civilians,” the ministry said in a statement.
Hezbollah has “categorically denied” responsibility for the attack. There have been unconfirmed claims that a failed Israeli interceptor missile may have caused the incident.
Iran, Hezbollah’s regional ally, warned Israel against any “new adventure concerning Lebanon” using the Majdal Shams incident as an “excuse”.
“After 10 months of mass killing in the Gaza Strip and mass murder of Palestinian children and women, the apartheid Israeli regime is trying to distract public opinion and global attention from its wide-ranging crimes in Palestine using a fabricated scenario,” Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement on Sunday, adding that Israel will be responsible for any moves that will further destabilise the region.
‘Tipping point’
Reporting from Beirut in Lebanon, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said the latest Israeli attacks were a message to Hezbollah, not the response it has promised.
“What we witnessed overnight was really normal activity, something that we have seen in the past 10 months since Hezbollah opened up a front in southern Lebanon to help the people of Gaza,” she said.