The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro, on Saturday night called for “maximum restraint” between Israel and Lebanon following the rocket attack on Majdal Shams which killed 12 people.
“We deplore the death of civilians - young children and teenagers - in Majdal Shams. Civilians must be protected at all times,” the two said in a statement.
“We urge the parties to exercise maximum restraint and to put a stop to the ongoing intensified exchanges of fire. It could ignite a wider conflagration that would engulf the entire region in a catastrophe beyond belief,” they added.
“UNIFIL and UNSCOL are in contact with both Lebanon and Israel,” the statement concluded.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Saturday night that Israel “will not let this pass in silence.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said following the attack, "For the death of small children, [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah must pay with his head. All of Lebanon must pay the price. My stance on the necessary measures is known. The Prime Minister should return immediately. It is time for action."
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that "the shooting at Majdal Shams and the devastating harm to civilians and children are a crossing of all red lines - and the response will be accordingly. We are approaching a moment of total war against Hezbollah and Lebanon." According to him, "We will pay prices on the front and the home front, but at the end of the war, Nasrallah and Hezbollah will be crushed and Lebanon will suffer severely. We will restore quiet and security to the northern communities."
He added, "I instructed the Foreign Ministry to prepare for a comprehensive global campaign to gain legitimacy for action in Lebanon."
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the massacre, saying, "Since October 8th I have been saying that we are in a state of war in the north and we need to defeat the enemy - the decision-making forums avoided recognizing for 10 months that we are in a campaign against Hezbollah."
"Today, no one, in any forum, including the Defense Minister who has only sought containment with Hezbollah, can escape the bloody reality - we are at war. I call on the Prime Minister to immediately convene the cabinet even via a secure phone, to make the decision I have long demanded - war in the north now."