Countries, most notably the United States, are seeking to avoid escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, after the Hebrew state pledged to respond to a missile strike in the occupied Golan Heights attributed to the party, according to Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip broke out on October 7, there has been an almost daily exchange of fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border between Hezbollah, which supports Hamas, and its allied factions on the one hand, and the Israeli army on the other.
On Saturday, Israel accused Hezbollah of being behind a missile strike that hit the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, killing 12 boys and girls. But the Tehran-backed party denied “any connection” to the attack, according to Agence France-Presse.
After Israel vowed to “hit the enemy hard,” the security cabinet authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the defense minister on Sunday to “determine how and when to respond” to Hezbollah.
Speaking to Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed TV on Sunday evening, Bou Habib said Beirut had received “assurances” from Washington, Paris and other parties to work to contain the escalation.
He explained that "what is required is for Israel to escalate and for its escalation to be limited, and for Hezbollah to respond and for its response to be limited," adding "these are the assurances we have received," according to Agence France-Presse.
For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati held "a series of diplomatic and political contacts, as part of following up on the new emergency situations and the repeated Israeli threats against Lebanon," according to a statement issued by his office.
The statement stressed that "contacts are continuing in more than one international, European and Arab direction to protect Lebanon and ward off dangers from it," according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
The White House accused Hezbollah of launching the "horrific" attack in the occupied Golan. A spokeswoman for the US National Security Council said that "this attack was carried out by the Lebanese Hezbollah. The missile was theirs and was launched from an area they control."
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed in a phone call with Netanyahu on Sunday that Paris is "fully committed to doing everything possible to avoid a new escalation in the region," according to the Elysee Palace.
A source close to Hezbollah confirmed to Agence France-Presse on Sunday that the party had evacuated its positions in southern and eastern Lebanon following Israeli threats.
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