After an airstrike at a soccer field in Golan Heights killed 12 people, including children, Israel hit Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Sunday. Israel had blamed Hezbollah for the strike, that happened on Saturday, on the town of Majdal Shams and vowed to hit back at the Lebanese militant group.
Israel Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, said his country mourns for the "innocent boys and girls killed."
"There are 150,000 Druze in Israel, as well as millions of Jews and Arab Israelis. We live side by side and all suffer from Hezbollah’s terror. We will ensure Hezbollah, the proxy of Iran, pays a price for this loss," said Gallant.
We mourn the innocent boys and girls killed in Majdal Shams.
— יואב גלנט - Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) July 28, 2024
There are 150,000 Druze in Israel, as well as millions of Jews and Arab Israelis. We live side by side and all suffer from Hezbollah's terror.
We will ensure Hezbollah, the proxy of Iran, pays a price for this loss.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned Hezbollah of a payback. However, Hezbollah denied any role in carrying out the attack in Golan Heights.
The recent airstrike is the "deadliest attack" on Israeli civilians since the October 7 Hamas attack. "There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed all the red lines here, and the response will reflect that," said Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
According to the Israel military, the strike was launched from an area north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon.
Jihan Sfadi, the principal of an elementary school, told Channel 12 that five students were among the dead. “The situation here is very difficult,” said Sfadi.
Ha'il Mahmoud, a resident, said that children were playing soccer when the rocket hit the field. He said a siren was heard seconds before the rocket hit, but there was no time to take shelter.
The Israeli military on Sunday targeted areas in southern Lebanon. It is unclear whether there were any causalities. IDF targeted a Hezbollah arms depot in the border village of Kfar Kil as well.
The strike has also worsened the cross-border violence. Since the Gaza war, Israel-Hezbollah border tensions have escalated. Hezbollah vowed to attack Israel till the Gaza war continues. Over 450 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon so far. While on the Israeli side, 45 people have been killed.
Amid escalation of tensions after the Golan Heights strike, Lebanon's government, in a statement urged an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts and condemned all attacks on civilians.
Israel's education minister, Yoav Kisch said he expects the cabinet to respond "with full force" after the deadly rocket attack in the occupied Golan Heights, "even if it means entering into an all-out war" with Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he did not want to see an escalation of violence following the deadly strike. Blinken said that the evidence suggests the rocket was fired by Hezbollah.
