Poster in Choueifat, Aley district, calling for revenge from Hezbollah for the Majdal Shams incident. (Credit: Beiruttime.Leb)
Lebanese security forces have launched an investigation on Thursday into posters calling for revenge against Hezbollah over the victims of Majdal Shams. The posters were found in the Druze-majority area of Choueifat, south of Beirut in the Aley district, residents told L'Orient Today.
On July 27, 12 children and adolescents were killed in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Israel blamed Hezbollah for the incident, a claim the group has strongly and repetitively denied. Majdal Shams is a contested area claimed by Israel, where most residents hold Israeli passports, but many identify as Syrian Arabs.
In retaliation, the Israeli army killed senior Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, along with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Hezbollah has vowed to avenge Shukur's death. Meanwhile, many residents of South Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs are fleeing to other areas, anticipating a potential escalation into full-scale war.
The posters in Choueifat also referenced the events of May 11, 2008, when clashes between Hezbollah and Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) members resulted in casualties on both sides. The violence erupted after the Lebanese government, then a political rival of Hezbollah decided to dismantle the group's telecommunications network and dismissed an airport security officer linked to Hezbollah.
Choueifat's mokhtar (a local official) Jihad Jurdi told L'Orient Today that the Internal Security Forces (ISF) and the Lebanese Army visited his office to investigate the posters. He expressed support for "the unity of Choueifat" and welcomed those fleeing to his area due to the ongoing crisis with Israel.
The PSP, Lebanon's most powerful Druze party, issued a statement condemning the "suspicious and blatantly motivated" posters and called on security forces to identify and prosecute those responsible. The party reaffirmed its commitment to national solidarity in facing the "Israeli enemy and its schemes."
Though critical of Hezbollah's influence in Lebanon and the broader region, former PSP leader Walid Jumblatt has stated that he would support Hezbollah in the event of an all-out war with Israel.
Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging daily attacks along the Lebanese-Israeli border, with occasional deeper strikes into Lebanon, particularly in the east. Additionally, Israel targeted Beirut's southern suburbs twice so far: Once during the assassination of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri and again during the killing of Shukur.