UNIFIL ‘more concerned than ever’ about Lebanon-Israel escalation

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Al Jazeera Arabic that the peacekeeping force was “more concerned than ever about the possibility of the conflict expanding in southern Lebanon” following the attack on Majdal Shams.

Tenenti added his team was communicating with actors on both sides of the border to reduce tensions at the Blue Line, which divides Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights.

At least 12 people have been killed and 18 others wounded in a rocket attack on a football pitch in the town of the Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, Israeli authorities confirmed.

Israel’s military spokesman Daniel Hagari said children were among those killed and accused the Lebanese group Hezbollah of carrying out the attack on Saturday.

Hezbollah swiftly denied responsibility for the attack. The group announced in a statement it “categorically denies the allegations reported by certain enemy media and various media platforms concerning the targeting of Majdal Shams”.

“The Islamic Resistance has no connection to this incident,” it added, referring to its military wing.

Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces in areas near the Israel-Lebanon border since October 8, when Tel Aviv launched its war on the Gaza Strip.

The cross-border attacks, which Hezbollah said it launched in solidarity with the Palestinian people amid Israel’s war on Gaza, have led to fears of a larger regional conflagration.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced he would fly home early from his trip to the United States, where he met several senior US officials.

Netanyahu told the leader of the Druze community in Israel, “Hezbollah will pay a heavy price, the kind it has thus far not paid,” during a phone call, according to a statement from his office.

Lebanon’s government, in a statement, urged the “immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts” and condemned attacks on civilians.