The United States urged Lebanon on Friday to prevent Hezbollah from carrying out attacks against Israel.
“We call upon the Lebanese government urgently to prevent such attacks and bring the area under its control,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said following the violence that ignited the southern Lebanese border on Friday morning.
“We strongly encourage all efforts to maintain calm,” he added.
The statement came hours after Hezbollah fired a volley of rockets at open fields near Israeli bases in occupied southern Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah said the attack was in response to the Israeli airstrikes that had been conducted in South Lebanon earlier this week.
Israel responded to the attack by targeting various open fields near the southern border with artillery.
The U.S. condemned the initial attack by Hezbollah “in the strongest terms,” joining other countries that include Germany and France in doing so.
Shortly prior to the incident, Lebanon had lodged a complaint to the United Nations about recent Israeli violations of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
Israel made a similar move on Friday when it filed a complaint at the U.N., claiming that Lebanon was fully responsible for the security developments, which UNIFIL has described as “very dangerous.”