Lebanon: cautious calm and Washington renews its support for Israel

Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that calm returned to the border areas between Israel and Lebanon after a military escalation between Hezbollah and the occupation forces lasted hours, while Washington expressed its full support for Israel's right to defend itself, amid international calls for restraint.

After hours of mutual escalation following Hezbollah's announcement of the destruction of an Israeli military vehicle near the border with Israel, the Israeli army responded by shelling areas of southern Lebanon;

The IDF Northern Command also announced a return to normalcy in all border areas with Lebanon.

Israeli military sources confirmed that the fighting with Hezbollah on the border "seems to have ended" after the Hezbollah launched anti-tank missiles, and responded with air strikes and artillery fire.

In the same vein, a security source in Hezbollah confirmed that the party has no intention of escalating after what happened today.

American support
The US administration announced on Sunday its full support for "Israel's right to self-defense" and expressed concern about the growing tension on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

A US State Department official stressed the need for Hezbollah to stop what it called hostilities that threaten Lebanon's security, stability and sovereignty.

He added that what happened was another example of what he called the destabilizing role played by Iran's proxies in the region.

US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt said the rockets fired at Israel from Lebanon "undermine the chances for peace."

International positions
For its part, the French Foreign Ministry called on all parties to exercise restraint and work for a rapid reduction of tension on the Lebanese-Israeli border.

During a meeting with his Swedish counterpart Margo Wahlstrom in Amman, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi stressed the need to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and preserve its security.

Safadi warned of the consequences of any escalation in the region, and stressed the need to respect UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Lebanon's sovereignty over its territory and to preserve its security.

Iranian National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani said Hezbollah's response to Israel and Iran's downing of the US drone confirmed the resistance's will to respond to any threats to the region.

Hezbollah announced that a group of its fighters destroyed an Israeli military vehicle on the road to the barrier "Avivim" near the Israeli-Lebanese border, killing and wounding those in it, while Tel Aviv denied any deaths.

Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters marched through the streets of the town of Maroun al-Ras to the southern city of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon. Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.