"We support Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense and continue to urge all parties to respect the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon," Psaki said. "We urge all parties to refrain from any action that could escalate the situation."
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched at least 25 shells on Shebaa Farms in Israeli-occupied Lebanese territory on Wednesday. The move was reportedly made in immediate retaliation to a Hezbollah attack on an Israeli military convoy, which the resistance movement claimed responsible for.
"The United States strongly condemns Hezbollah’s attack today from Lebanon on IDF in blatant violation of the cease fire between Lebanon and Israel and UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks," Psaki stated.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on its Twitter account that two of its soldiers died in Wednesday’s attack. The news follows confirmation of a Spanish peacekeeping soldier’s death in a skirmish between Israel and Hezbollah.
Today, 2 #IDF soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah attack in northern Israel. We join the families in their mourning. pic.twitter.com/lESgSBKeyD
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) January 28, 2015
The spokesperson expressed condolences to the victims’ families, and stressed that the United States stands with United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon maintaining peace and security along the Blue Line.
"Hezbollah continues to incite violence and instability inside Lebanon by attacking Israel and by its presence and fighting inside Syria, which violates Lebanese leaders’ agreed policy of dissociating Lebanon from foreign conflicts, the statement concluded.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has «grave» concerns over the escalating tensions in the so-called Israel-Syria-Lebanon triangle, the ministry said in a statement published Wednesday.
Israel’s northern borders were subject to heightened tensions on January 18, when an Israeli helicopter fired missiles at a group of militants near the Syrian town of Quneitra, killing six Hezbollah militants. The group pledged to carry out a «fierce» and «destructive» response.
Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shiite political party and militant group established in the 1980s to oppose Israel’s occupation of Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and a number of Western countries.
