The rocket fire from southern Lebanon towards Israel early Saturday morning prompted a series of unanimous calls for restraint and denunciations of Israeli cease-fire violations from Lebanese officials. Hezbollah itself reaffirmed its commitment to the truce between Lebanon and Israel, while its traditional ally, the Speaker of Parliament and leader of the Amal Movement, Nabih Berri, urged "all Lebanese parties" to unite around the state and its institutions, including the army.

Before 8 a.m., the Israeli army claimed to have intercepted three rockets heading towards the town of Metula. While residents of southern Lebanon told L'Orient Today's correspondent they did not hear any rockets fired, the Lebanese army said it found "improvised" rocket launchers near Arnoun (Nabatieh), north of the Litani. These attacks prompted a disproportionate Israeli air force response, which conducted 18 strikes in several southern regions, killing at least two people, including a young girl.

Hezbollah's 'commitment' to the cease-fire agreement

Hezbollah quickly denied any involvement. It denounced Israeli "excuses" to "continue the attacks" and reaffirmed its "commitment to the cease-fire agreement," while "supporting the Lebanese state to face this dangerous Zionist escalation against Lebanon."

The military branch of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) also denied any involvement in the rocket fire.

"False information attributed to a television channel is circulating and claims that the party's military branch claimed responsibility for launching rockets from southern Lebanon" towards Israel, the SSNP said in a statement. "We strongly want to emphasize that this information is entirely false and that the SSNP's military branch rejects any link to any rocket fire. It asserts the predominance of the role of the state, government, and army in stopping Israeli attacks against Lebanon and in any security plan."

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Despite strikes, southern Lebanon residents 'committed to staying' amid fear

The first to react, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned against "the resumption of military operations on the southern border, as they risk dragging the country into a new war, which would be disastrous for Lebanon and the Lebanese."

In a call with Defense Minister Michel Menassa, he emphasized the need to take all necessary security and military measures to ensure that "only the state has the power to decide on war and peace."

On Oct. 8, 2023, following the deadly Hamas attack in Israel and the beginning of the bloody Israeli offensive on Gaza, Hezbollah opened its "support" front by firing rockets and artillary towards northern Israel. The war escalated in September 2024, with a massive Israeli air campaign on several regions of Lebanon until a cease-fire took effect on Nov. 27, 2024. Despite this agreement, which notably called for its complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the Israeli army continues to occupy at least five positions it deems "strategic" in Lebanese territory.

Salam also contacted the U.N. coordinator in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, to ask her that the United Nations "double their international pressure on Israel, so that it withdraws completely from the still-occupied Lebanese territories."

'Avoid any violation' that could threaten Lebanon

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the "attempts to bring Lebanon back into the spiral of violence," according to a statement. Aoun stated that what happened on Saturday in the south, and the violations observed there since Feb. 18, the deadline for the Israeli withdrawal, are a "persistent attack on Lebanon."

He also requested all concerned forces in southern Lebanon, particularly the cease-fire monitoring committee, and the army, to follow the events with "the utmost seriousness to avoid any repercussions and to put an end to any violation that could threaten the country under these delicate circumstances." He finally asked the commander of the army, General Rodolphe Haykal, to take necessary measures on the ground to preserve the security of citizens and investigate the circumstances of the shootings.

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'Washington's green light means Israel can do as it pleases'

Berri called on all parties in Lebanon not to "create excuses for the [Israeli] enemy" and to "rally around the state and its institutions," particularly military ones, after the rocket fire from the south towards Israel.

"All Lebanese, especially political forces, must purify their political discourse, rally around the state and its constitutional, judicial, military and security institutions, and be aware of the dangers resulting from creating excuses for the enemy by stirring up conflicts," he said.

In his statement, Berri said that "the first and last beneficiary of dragging Lebanon and the region into a major spiral of violence is Israel and its security and military bodies," emphasizing that Israel has committed "more than 1,500 cease-fire violations," "while Lebanon and its resistance have fully committed to all the provisions of this agreement."

Reclaim Hezbollah's weapons 'by force or by consensus'

The defense minister stressed Lebanon's refusal to "return to the situation that prevailed before the ceasefire of November 2024" and stated "firm opposition to attempts to undermine the state's efforts to consolidate security and stability throughout Lebanese territory, particularly on the southern and eastern borders," respectively with Israel and Syria. He said that the Lebanese army launched an investigation into the circumstances of the rocket fire from southern Lebanon and called on the "sponsors" of the cease-fire agreement to dissuade Israel from continuing its "violations and attacks under false pretenses."

The foreign minister, Joe Rajji, made diplomatic contacts to press Israel to calm the tension at the Lebanon-Israel border. He notably spoke with his Jordanian, Egyptian, European and French counterparts, as well as the U.S. deputy special envoy for Middle East peace, Morgan Ortagus, and the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Middle East affairs, Natasha Franceschi.

"I asked for pressure on Israel to end the escalation," he said.

The leader of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Taymour Joumblatt, stated that "compliance with the cease-fire agreement and the implementation of resolution 1701 are the only means not to enter into new military conflicts that could push Lebanon to war again."

In an interview on Voice of Lebanon, MP Ghassan Hasbani (Lebanese Forces) said that the rocket fire from Lebanese territory towards Israel is "an attempt to draw Lebanon into a new war, inflame the border and put the army and the state on the front line."

Hasbani stated that "the army must reclaim Hezbollah's weapons by force or by consensus; otherwise, this process will be entrusted to the Israelis in the South and to the Syrians in the East, which is unacceptable for any Lebanese, as it affects national sovereignty."

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.