News - Middle East: Syria says Israel carried out the “brutal massacre” in the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Height in an attempt to escalate tensions in the region.

In a Sunday statement, Syria’s Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said the Israeli regime holds the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah responsible for the crime as a part of its blatant attempts to fabricate pretexts to continue aggression on the region as a whole.

“As part of attempts to escalate the situation in the region, Israeli occupation entity committed a heinous crime on Saturday in Majdal Shams town and then held Lebanese National Resistance accountable for this crime,” the ministry added.

Syria condemns the continuation of Israel’s massacre daily and holds the occupation entity responsible for the “dangerous” escalation of the situation across the region, it noted.

The statement emphasized that people living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Height have refused for decades to give up their Syrian Arab identity and will never be fooled by the regime’s false accusations, including the one which held Hezbollah responsible for the Majdal Shams attack.

These people have been and will be an integral part of resisting the occupier and its aggressive policies in violation of their land and identity, the statement pointed out.

At least 12 people were killed and several others wounded on Saturday in a rocket attack on a football pitch in the town of the Majdal Shams.

In a statement, Hezbollah said, “The Islamic Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with the incident, and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard.”

Some reports said the explosion might have been caused by a stray projectile fired by Israel’s so-called Iron Dome missile system.

The regime, however, insisted on blaming the resistance movement for the incident.

Lebanon asks US to urge Israel to exercise restraint 

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters on Sunday that the Lebanese government has asked the United States to intervene and push Israel to exercise restraint after the strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Bou Habib said the US had also asked the Lebanese government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well, despite the resistance movement’s denial of any involvement in the attack.

Separately, the top Lebanese diplomat on Sunday called for an international investigation into the incident.

In a post on his X account, Bou Habib urged an “international investigation or a meeting of the tripartite committee held through UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) to know the truth” about who was responsible for the attack.

The tripartite committee refers to military officials from Lebanon and Israel, which are technically at war, together with the UNIFIL peacekeepers.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued by Lebanon’s foreign ministry, Bou Habib said he “expected the Majdal Shams strike was carried out by other organizations or was an Israeli mistake or a mistake by Hezbollah.”

He emphasized that the Lebanese resistance group targets “only military” positions and will never carry out an intentional attack on civilians in Majdal Shams.

According to the statement, the Lebanese foreign minister also “called for the complete and comprehensive application” of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701”, which ended the 33-day Israeli military onslaught in 2006, and respect Lebanon's territorial integrity.

He warned that “a large attack by Israel on Lebanon will lead to a deterioration of the regional situation and will spark regional war.”

On Sunday afternoon, Hezbollah announced its first attack on an Israeli position since the day before, saying it came “in response to enemy attacks” on south Lebanon villages and homes.

The Israeli military conducted air raids in several towns in southern Lebanon overnight on Saturday after it accused Hezbollah of firing a rocket that in the Majdal Shams.

Source: Press TV