Photo: Combined photo of some of the Druze children that were killed by a rocket that targeted the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights . Hezbollah was accused of firing the rocket .(photo credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)
Funeral of children who were killed at a soccer pitch by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, July 28, 2024. “Contrary to its denials, Hezbollah is the entity that is unequivocally responsible for yesterday’s massacre,” Israel’s foreign ministry said.(Reuters)
People gather during the funeral of children who were killed at a soccer pitch by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, July 28, 2024. (Reuters)
A rocket fired from Lebanon struck a football pitch and killed at least 12 young Druze people in Majdel Shams in Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Saturday, Israel’s army said, claiming the rocket was fired by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, who denied any connection to the incident. This strike raised fears of a wider regional conflict, as it is the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, according to the military’s chief spokesman.
A rocket strike Saturday at a soccer field killed at least 12 Druze children and teens, Israeli authorities said, in the deadliest strike on an Israeli target along the country’s northern border since the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began. It raised fears of a broader regional war.
Israel blamed Hezbollah for the strike in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights but Hezbollah rushed to deny any role. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned that Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price for this attack, one that it has not paid so far”.
The Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, called it the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since the Hamasattack on Oct. 7 that sparked the war in Gaza. He said 20 others were wounded.
“There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed all the red lines here, and the response will reflect that,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israeli Channel 12. “We are nearing the moment in which we face an all-out war.”
Hezbollah chief spokesman Mohammed Afif told The Associated Press that the group “categorically denies carrying out an attack” on the town of Majdal Shams. It is unusual for Hezbollah to deny an attack.
The office of Netanyahu, who was on a visit to the United States, said he would cut short his trip by several hours, without specifying when he would return. It said he will convene the security Cabinet after arriving.
Far-right members of Netanyahu’s government called for a harsh response against Hezbollah. But an all-out war with a militant group with far superior firepower to Hamas would be trying for Israel’s military after nearly 10 months of fighting in Gaza.
Iran warns against retaliation
Iran warned Israel that any new military “adventures” in Lebanon could lead to “unforeseen consequences”.
“Any ignorant action of the Zionist regime can lead to the broadening of the scope of instability, insecurity and war in the region,” said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani, adding that Israel will be responsible for “the unforeseen consequences and reactions to such stupid behaviour”.
Footage aired on Israeli Channel 12 showed a large blast in one of the valleys in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed in 1981. Some Druze have Israeli citizenship. Many still have sympathies for Syria and rejected Israeli annexation but their ties with Israeli society have grown over the years.
FRANCE 24/ AFP
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