US backs Israel in latest skirmish across Lebanon border

AFP | Washington

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

The United States on Sunday said it will support Israel against all threats supported by Iran. Talking in the aftermath of the attack in Israeli-annexed Golan Heights that killed 12 youngsters, National Security Council Spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement, “Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad and unwavering against all Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah.”

“We have been in continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since the horrific attack,” Watson added.

Origin of Attack The White House also said it believes the attack on a football field in the Druze Arab town of Majdal Shams was conducted by Lebanese Hezbollah Calling the attack “horrific,” Watson said, “it was their rocket, and launched from an area they control. It should be universally condemned.”

Lebanon yesterday called for an international investigation into the tragedy, warning against a large-scale retaliation.

In a statement on X, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib urged for an “international investigation or a meeting of the tripartite committee held through UNIFIL to know the truth” about who was responsible for the attack.

The tripartite committee refers to military officials from Lebanon and Israel together with peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Condemnation German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned what she said was the “deplorable” rocket attack on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, and called for “cool heads” in response.

“The perfidious attacks must stop immediately. It is important to act with cool heads. Far too many people have died already in this conflict,” Baerbock wrote on X in reference to the Gaza war, which risks spreading to Lebanon.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, also condemned the attack in language similar to that used by the White House.

Harris “has been briefed and is closely monitoring Hezbollah’s horrific attack on a soccer field in Majdal Shams,” her NSC advisor Phil Gordon wrote on X. “She condemns this horrific attack and mourns for all those killed and wounded.”