The Lebanese Armed Forces is facing pushback from two U.S. lawmakers over a statement it posted to social media on Sunday blaming Israel for flare-ups with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. 

The LAF wrote in a post on X, “The Israeli enemy persists in its violations of Lebanese sovereignty, causing instability in Lebanon, obstructing the completion of the army’s deployment in the south.”

“The latest of these condemned aggressions was its targeting of a patrol of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon” on Sunday, the post added.

The IDF said that the U.N. soldiers had been “classified as suspects due to poor weather conditions” and that the incident was under investigation.

The LAF post went on to state that it is “working in coordination with friendly countries to put an end to the ongoing violations and breaches by the Israeli enemy, which require immediate action as they represent a dangerous escalation.”

The Lebanese government has agreed to begin efforts to disarm Hezbollah, though reports indicate the terror group is attempting to rebuild its stockpiles after Israel degraded its weapons capabilities over the past several years.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) responded to the post later that night, writing that she was “disappointed by this statement.”

“The LAF are a strategic partner, and — as I discussed with the CHOD in August — Israel has given Lebanon a real opportunity to free itself from Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists,” Ernst wrote. “Instead of seizing that opportunity and working together to disarm Hezbollah, the CHOD [Chief Head of Defense] is shamefully directing blame at Israel.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also weighed in, criticizing the LAF for the statement and its failure to target Hezbollah militarily.

“It is clear that the Lebanese Chief Head of Defense — because of a reference to Israel as the enemy and his weak almost non-existent effort to disarm Hezbollah — is a giant setback for efforts to move Lebanon forward,” Graham wrote on X. 

“This combination makes the Lebanese Armed Forces not a very good investment for America,” he added.  

Ernst and Graham have both visited Lebanon in recent months amid efforts to encourage Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah and stabilize its border with Israel.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers including Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) criticized the Israeli government on Thursday for carrying out a new round of strikes in Syria, which reportedly killed eight Syrian soldiers.

The statement is one of the most public signs yet of friction between U.S. lawmakers, including some staunch supporters of Israel, and the Israeli government over Israel’s approach to the new Syrian government, which has included repeated rounds of strikes on Syrian targets even amid diplomatic engagements. Many U.S. lawmakers, meanwhile, are urging a more optimistic approach.

“We just returned from Syria, where we heard directly from interim President [Ahmad] Al Sharaa, cabinet ministers and Syrians from across ethnic and religious communities,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement on Wednesday. “The message was clear: Syria needs a chance to succeed and move past the violence and strife that consumed the country for over 14 years. Last night’s destabilizing strikes on Syria by Israel make that goal more difficult to achieve.”

The lawmakers praised the Trump administration for lifting sanctions on Syria and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack for brokering a meeting between the Syrian and Israeli governments. They argued that there is a real but shrinking window for true Syrian-Israeli peace, and said Israel must step up.

“The Syrians are prepared to move forward with Israel to advance peace. It is unclear how long the door to this opportunity will remain open. We call on Israel to seize the moment and immediately cease hostilities so the progress made by Syrians and Special Envoy Barrack can continue,” the lawmakers continued. “A stable and secure Syria is the only path toward freedom from Iran’s reach and containment of the ISIS threat.”

The criticisms are similar to frustrations expressed privately by some Republican senators to Jewish Insider earlier this summer following Israeli strikes targeting the Syrian defense ministry and presidential palace in response to atrocities against Syrian Druze in Sweida.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told JI in July that Israel’s “security concerns in Syria are legitimate. They’re very important to me, but I also want to help the president with his efforts to integrate the country. So there’s some tension, and I hope we can clear it up.”

He said it would be critical to determine the extent to which the Syrian army has been involved in the atrocities against the Druze and how much control the Syrian government exerts over its coalition and allies. He said that if the Syrian military or government were involved, sanctions should be reinstated.