BERLIN

Germany on Monday stressed the importance of adhering to the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon after Israel bombed a suburb of Beirut over the weekend.

When it comes to Lebanon, "we are committed to ensuring that the ceasefire holds, and we repeatedly call on all parties to comply with the agreement and, above all, to exercise maximum restraint,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told journalists in Berlin.

“A return to military escalation in Lebanon would have fatal consequences for the people on both sides of the blue line,” he said.

The goal is “a politically negotiated solution along the blue line,” Fischer reiterated.

Israeli warplanes also launched an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday evening, shortly after the army issued an evacuation order for residents in the Hadath neighborhood in the area, the state news agency NNA reported.

Videos on social media showed a destroyed building engulfed in flames, with thick smoke and dust rising over the area.

Sunday’s strike marked the third Israeli attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in a month.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon since November, ending months of cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which escalated into a full-scale conflict in September.

Lebanese authorities have reported more than 2,764 Israeli violations of the truce, including the deaths of at least 194 victims and injuries to 485 others.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Israel refused to comply. It still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.