Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Schenker, viewed the incident in Majdal Shams as an "accident, albeit unintended, but Hezbollah has a history of killing children since its involvement in the Syrian war in 2013 to serve Iran."

He stated that no one can definitively say whether "unintended incidents could lead to a broader war or not," but he believes that Tel Aviv will respond proportionally to what happened.

He stated that the Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. presidential elections, Kamala Harris, will continue with the "policy of de-escalation and continuing efforts to stop the war in Gaza," while noting that Harris may not have a strong focus on Lebanon or that Lebanon might not be prominently on her foreign policy agenda, unlike former President Donald Trump, who maintained Lebanon as a priority during his administration.

According to Schenker, many of those close to Trump see Lebanon as Hezbollah in reality.

He added, "During Trump's previous administration, there were many key players in foreign policy who wanted to stop aid to the Lebanese army, and there were discussions within the administration on this thorny issue."

Schenker affirmed that if Trump returns to the presidency, "we will see the maximum pressure policy crafted by Mike Pompeo towards Iran and its areas of influence, particularly Lebanon. This policy aims to pressure Tehran into negotiating on its nuclear program and its behavior in the region."

He also expressed his belief that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want a war with Hezbollah, nor does the latter want it. Furthermore, Iran does not want to see Hezbollah suffer significant losses, and most importantly, the current U.S. administration does not want to see a wide-scale war before the presidential elections.

He considered that Tel Aviv is waiting to see how Hezbollah will act if efforts lead to a ceasefire in Gaza: Will it engage in the talks led by the U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, or will it continue military action?

Schenker believed that the chances of reaching an agreement on the southern front still exist, but the crucial factor is whether Iran is ready for such an agreement, especially after the damages inflicted on Hezbollah's military infrastructure and the loss of key military leaders due to Israeli airstrikes.