MAZDAL SHAMS, Israel — The mother of one of the 12 children killed by a Hezbollah rocket on Saturday cried out in grief as she approached the local soccer field where her children were killed.
“Tell me,” a local teacher asked a crying mother behind him, “how do we remove their names from the roll?”
In the corner of a nearby field, near a torn iron fence, lies the rocket crater.
Doran Abu Saleh, a local resident who lives near the stadium and saw the rockets fly over the town before they hit the football field, said the rockets landed close to the entrance to a local bomb shelter, meaning children who fled when they heard the warning sirens were killed on the way to safety.
He said one paramedic placed his own daughter’s body into the ambulance before returning to treat the injured.
Shrapnel from the bomb fell on a nearby playground and body parts were found on the roof of a neighboring building — scenes that are still excruciating for journalists three days later.
Joel B. Pollack/Breitbart News
Black flags hang in the streets, portraits of the victims hang on fences and a memorial stands in the central roundabout, with 12 empty chairs each holding a football or basketball and jerseys with children’s names on them.
Local dignitaries came to console the village and its grieving families, including former Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon, the mayor of Karmiel and the imam of the Muslim community in the central Israeli town of Lydda.
Speaking in Arabic, the imam called for unity among all Israelis – Druze, Muslims, Jews and Christians. He led Muslims in midday prayers at the memorial site and embraced members of the community.
As they offer their eulogies, a message resonates from leader to leader: “We must unite as one nation against hate.”
Some foreign journalists have sought local opinions on how Israel should respond, but local resident Jawad Abuzed isn’t interested in geopolitics: For the Druze, who are spread across Israel, Lebanon and Syria, there is only one answer.
“We hope that these 12 children will become ambassadors of peace,” Abuzed told me.
“And we pray for peace all over the world.”
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
