The suspected Hezbollah attack on a soccer field that left 12 children dead has brought Israel to the brink of a two-front war and plunged the Middle East into heightened tensions. The rocket slammed into a soccer field in Majdal Shams on the Israeli-controlled northern border of the Golan Heights on Saturday evening, killing 12 children and shocking a population still recovering from a Hamas attack last October. Most of the victims were between the ages of 10 and 16. A further 30 people were wounded, six of them seriously. Magen David AdamIsrael’s National Emergency Service.
Hezbollah issued a rare denial of the attack, but Israel countered that the rockets were Iranian-made Falak-1 rockets fired from Lebanon, and the Israel Defense Forces said such rockets were the type regularly fired by Hezbollah.
The rocket left a crater about two yards wide.
“We arrived at the soccer field and saw destruction and things on fire,” said Idan Avshalom, an MDA emergency medical technician. Israel“The wounded were lying on the grass and it was a very difficult situation. We immediately started sorting the wounded and some of them were taken to the local clinic and our team was also directed to the clinic.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement he was shocked by the attack.
“Those killed included young children playing soccer. These scenes are heartbreaking for us all,” he added.
Israel retaliated days later, striking Beirut on Tuesday and killing Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr, the man accused of masterminding the soccer stadium attack. The United States alleges Shukr helped plan the 1983 Beirut bombing that killed 241 American soldiers.
Now Israel is bracing for a new counterattack from Hezbollah, which it sees as a brotherly rival to Israel’s Hamas. Hezbollah has been firing rockets at Israel regularly since October in an attempt to divert the country’s resources away from Gaza.
“My fellow Israelis, difficult days lie ahead,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Since the attack in Beirut, we have been hearing threats from all directions. We are prepared for any scenario and will stand united and resolute against any threat. Israel will impose a heavy price for any attack against us from any sector.”
“Hezbollah has crossed a line by attacking a soccer field,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on Twitter.
Tensions in the Middle East escalated further on Wednesday when Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a bomb blast at about 2 a.m. local time in his Tehran building. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president.
Haniyeh’s assassination was carried out with a bomb that was smuggled into the building several months ago and detonated remotely upon his arrival. The New York Times Haniyeh was reported to have been staying at a guesthouse run and guarded by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the country was now at war on two fronts.
“Since October 8, I have said that we are at war in the north and that we need to defeat the enemy,” Ben Gvir said, according to AllIsrael.com. “Today, no one in any forum can escape the bloody reality, including the defense minister, who has only sought to contain Hezbollah. We are at war.”
Video: Magen David Adom paramedics respond to Hezbollah attack
How You Can Help
Please pray for the victims and families of the escalating Hezbollah attacks. You can support MAGEN DAVID ADOM and help save lives during this crisis by donating emergency supplies. Every donation makes a huge difference.
Photo credit: ©Magen David Adom EMTS
Michael Faust He has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years, and his work has appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star and Knoxville News Sentinel.
