Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Hezbollah this Saturday “He will pay a heavy price for this attack, a price he has never paid before.”, according to Israeli officials, many people were killed, including 11 children, following the attack on the Golan Heights. It was the deadliest attack on an Israeli civilian target on the country’s northern border since fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began the day after a Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7.
Although Israel blamed the attack on Hezbollah, Its origin is yet to be confirmed.. On the Islamic group’s part, it was quick to disclaim any responsibility in a statement it said “had no connection with the incident” and “vehemently denied all false allegations”. Still, rising tensions raise fears of a wider regional war.
According to Israeli officials, at least 11 children and teenagers were killed in Saturday’s rocket attack on a football stadium in the town of Majdal Shams, which borders northern Israel, southern Lebanon and Jordan. The Israeli Armed Forces considered the incident “extremely serious” and said they were acting accordingly. “Hezbollah fired a rocket at children playing soccer in northern Israel and then lied that they did not carry out the attack,” said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the main spokesman for the military.
“There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed all the red lines and the response will reflect that,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israel’s Channel 12. “We are approaching the moment when we face an all-out war,” he added.
Hezbollah’s chief spokesman, Mohammad Afif, told The Associated Press that “the group categorically denies carrying out the attack on Majdal Shams.” Hezbollah’s denial of the attack is unusual.
The attack on the soccer field shortly before sunset follows other incidents of violence today in the border area between Israel and Lebanon, in which Hezbollah says three of its fighters have been killed, without specifying where. The Israeli military said its airstrikes targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot in the border village of Kfar Gila, which Lebanese militants were inside at the time.
Hezbollah said its fighters carried out nine separate attacks against Israeli military positions using rockets and explosive drones.
The office of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on a visit to the United States, announced that the head of government would cut his trip short by several hours, without specifying when he would return to Israel to meet the defense cabinet.
Images broadcast by Israeli Channel 12 showed a large eruption in one of the valleys near Majdal Shams, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed in 1981.
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged attacks since the day after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7. In recent weeks, fighting has intensified along the border between Lebanon and Israel, with Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah rocket and drone strikes reaching further and further from the border.
Saturday’s violence comes as Israel and Hamas consider a cease-fire plan that would end a nearly 10-month war and free about 110 hostages held in Gaza.
US expresses “unwavering support” to Israel after attack
Hours after the attack was announced, the White House reaffirmed its “unwavering support” for Israel. A spokesman for the National Security Council said the United States “will continue to support efforts to end these horrific attacks” on the border between Lebanon and Israel, considering them an “absolute priority” after earlier rocket attacks. In a town in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, 11 children and teenagers were killed.
The United States is one of Israel’s most important allies, supporting Netanyahu’s administration in its conflict with Hamas.
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