Thousands of people attended the funeral of the 12 children and teenagers on 28 July killed in rocket attack in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights Israel has vowed swift retaliation against Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has denied any responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams, the deadliest attack in Israel or Israeli-occupied territory since a Hamas attack on 7 October 2023. The attack has sparked a war in Gaza, which has since spread to multiple fronts and now threatens to spill over into a wider regional conflict.
Israeli jets attacked targets in southern Lebanon overnight, but a more robust response was expected after a security cabinet meeting at 6 pm (1500 GMT). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from a visit to the United States and met security officials ahead of the meeting.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there were all indications that the rocket that struck a playground where children were playing soccer was fired by Hezbollah. He said Washington stands with Israel’s right to self-defense.
But he said the United States did not want to escalate the conflict, which sees daily air strikes and gunfire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, families gathered for funerals in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, a region seized from Syria by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed without recognition by most countries.
The Druze, an Arab minority who follow a form of Islam, make up more than half the Golan Heights’ 40,000 population, and large crowds of mourners, many wearing traditional white and red Druze headwear, surrounded the coffins as they were carried through the village.
“We are going through a difficult time. A great tragedy, a dark day, has befallen Majdal Shams,” Dolan Abu Saleh, head of the Majdal Shams local council, said in comments broadcast on Israeli television.
Hezbollah initially announced it had fired rockets at Israeli military sites in the Golan Heights, but denied involvement in the attack on Majdal Shams, saying it “had nothing to do with the incident, and categorically denies all false accusations in this regard.”
However, Israel said the rocket was fired from an area north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon, and placed the blame directly on the Iran-backed group, saying Hezbollah was “clearly responsible”.
It was not immediately clear whether the children and teenagers killed in the attack were Israeli citizens, but Israeli officials have vowed to avenge the attack.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said, “The rocket that killed our boys and girls was an Iranian rocket and Hezbollah is the only terrorist organization that has these rockets.”
two security sources told Reuters HeHezbollah was on high alert and had already evacuated some key sites in Lebanon’s south and eastern Bekaa Valley in case of a possible Israeli attack.
Israeli forces have been exchanging fire with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon for months, but both sides appear to be avoiding a situation that could lead to a full-blown war that would potentially involve other powers including the United States and Iran.
‘Disaster beyond belief’
However, Saturday’s attack threatens to escalate the standoff into a more dangerous phase, with UN officials urging both sides to exercise maximum restraint, warning that further escalation could “ignite a massive conflagration that could plunge the entire region into unbelievable disaster.”
An Israeli military spokesman earlier told reporters that forensic tests showed the rocket was an Iranian-made Falaq-1. Hezbollah announced it fired a Falaq-1 missile on July 28, saying its target was an Israeli military headquarters.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said the Lebanese government has urged the US and Israel to exercise restraint. ReutersMr Bou Habib said the US has also asked the Lebanese government to send a message of restraint to Hezbollah.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned Israel against any new attacks in Lebanon on July 28. However, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, who visited the site of the attack, said, “We will strongly strike the enemy.”
Syria’s Foreign Ministry said it held Israel “fully responsible for this dangerous escalation in the region” and said its accusations against Hezbollah were false.
A statement from the White House said the US’ support for Israel’s security is unwavering and that it “will continue to support efforts to stop these horrific attacks across the Blue Line, which must be given the highest priority”. The Blue Line refers to the border between Lebanon and Israel.
A senior diplomat focused on Lebanon said all efforts were now needed to avoid all-out war.
The conflict has forced thousands of people to flee their homes in both Lebanon and Israel. Israeli strikes have killed about 350 Hezbollah fighters and more than 100 civilians in Lebanon, including doctors, children and journalists.
The Israeli military said after Saturday’s attack that the number of civilians killed in Hezbollah attacks by October 2023 had risen to 23, including at least 17 soldiers.
Hezbollah is the most powerful in a network of Iran-backed groups in the Middle East and began opening a second front against Israel soon after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack.
Both Iraqi groups and Yemen’s Houthis have fired on Israel, which earlier this month attacked the Red Sea port of Hodeidah in retaliation for an attack on Tel Aviv that killed one person. Hamas has also launched rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon, as has Lebanese Sunni group Jamaah Islamiyah.
Druze communities live on both sides of the line between southern Lebanon and northern Israel, as well as in the Golan Heights and Syria. While some serve in the Israeli military and identify with Israel, many feel marginalized in Israel and some even reject Israeli citizenship.