People gather on a football field to hold a funeral for a child killed by a Lebanese rocket in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on July 28, 2024.
Amar Awad | Reuters
Thousands of mourners attended a funeral on Sunday for the 12 children and teenagers who were killed. rocket attack Israel vows to stay in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights quick revenge Fighting Hezbollah Militia lebanon.
Hezbollah denies responsibility for the Majdal Shams attack, the worst since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that triggered Israel or its annexation of territory. Gaza War. The conflict has spread on multiple fronts and now threatens to spread even wider regional conflict.
Israeli warplanes struck targets in southern Lebanon overnight, but a stronger response was expected after a 6 pm (1500 GMT) security cabinet meeting. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns from a visit to the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said all indications were that the rocket that hit a sports field where children were playing football was fired by Hezbollah and said Washington supported Israel’s right to defend itself.
But he said the United States does not want further upgrade Israeli troops and Hezbollah exchange fire on the border every day.
Britain expressed concern about a further escalation, while Egypt said the attack could “turn into a full-scale regional war”.
On the ground, families gathered for a funeral in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. .
The Druze faith is related to Islam, Christianity and Judaism, and more than half of the 40,000 people in the Golan Heights are members of the Druze faith. A large crowd of mourners surrounded the coffin as it was carried through the village, many wearing traditional white and red Druze headdresses.
“Majdal Shams has suffered a heavy tragedy and a dark day,” Dolan Abu Saleh, chairman of the Majdal Shams local council, said in comments broadcast on Israeli television.
Hezbollah initially announced it had fired rockets at Israeli military bases in the Golan Heights, but said it had “absolutely no connection” to the attack in Majdal Shams.
On July 27, 2024, Israeli officials responded to an incident where rockets were fired across the Lebanese-Israeli border at a football stadium in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killing one person.
Amar Awad | Reuters
Israel accuses Hezbollah
However, Israel said the rocket was an Iranian-made missile launched from an area north of the village of Cheba in southern Lebanon, placing the blame squarely on Israel. Iran-backed organization He added that Hezbollah “bears clear responsibility.”
It was unclear whether the children and teenagers killed in the attack were Israeli citizens, but Israeli officials vowed revenge.
“The rockets that killed our boys and girls were Iranian rockets, and Hezbollah is the only terrorist organization that possesses them,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
Two security sources told Reuters Hezbollah was on high alert and had cleared key locations in southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley in case of an Israeli attack.
Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines said arrivals on some flights were delayed from Sunday night to Monday morning, without giving a reason.
In the southern port city of Tyre, more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border, beachgoers are still flocking to the coast. “People are worried about Israel’s reaction, but people are living their normal lives,” said Ali Husseini, manager of a seaside business in Tire.
Israeli forces have been fighting Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon for months, but both sides appear to be avoiding an escalation that could lead to an all-out war that could drag down other major powers including the United States and Iran.
However, Saturday’s strike could push the impasse into a more dangerous phase. U.N. officials urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint and warned that an escalation could “plunge the entire region into incredible catastrophe.”
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib told Reuters that Lebanon had asked the United States to urge Israel to exercise restraint. Buhabib said that the United States has asked the Lebanese government to convey a message to Hezbollah and asked the Lebanese government to also show restraint.
Fear of an all-out war
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday warned Israel against any new adventures in Lebanon.
Syria’s foreign ministry said Israel “bears full responsibility for the dangerous escalation in the area” and said its accusations against Hezbollah were false.
Two diplomats focused on Lebanon say everything needs to be done now to avoid an all-out war.
The conflict has forced tens of thousands of people in Lebanon and Israel to leave their homes. Israeli air strikes have killed approximately 350 Hezbollah fighters and more than 100 civilians in Lebanon, including medical staff, children and journalists.
The Israeli military said Saturday’s attack brought the number of civilians killed in Hezbollah attacks since October to 23, along with at least 17 soldiers.
Hezbollah, the most powerful network of Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, opened a second front against Israel shortly after Hamas launched its attack on October 7.
Both the Iraqi group and Yemen’s Houthi rebels have opened fire on Israel, which attacked Red Sea ports earlier this month Hudaydah in retaliation for an attack in Tel Aviv that left one person dead. Hamas has also launched rocket attacks against Israel from Lebanon, as have Lebanese Sunni Islamist groups.
Druze communities live on both sides of the border 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 refuse to obtain Israeli citizenship.
