Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Lebanese militant group Hezbollah would “pay a heavy price” after an attack on a soccer field in a remote town in the occupied Golan Heights left 11 young people dead and a day of rocket fire from Lebanon aimed at Israeli territory.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said “numerous” ambulances had been dispatched to the scene to treat the injured, all of whom were between the ages of 10 and 20. Video and images showed young injured people scattered across the grass, some wearing sports shirts.
The attack hit the predominantly Druze town of Majdal Shams in the mountainous Golan Heights near the Syrian border, which Israel has occupied since 1967 and annexed in 1981.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli leader had told Israel’s Druze leadership that “Hezbollah will pay a heavy price, the like of which it has never paid before.”
A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon told Reuters they had been in contact with Lebanese and Israeli authorities “to learn more about the Majdal Shams incident and to maintain calm.”
Hezbollah and other Lebanon-based militias have repeatedly attacked Israeli territory in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Gaza, while Israeli airstrikes have targeted towns and cities deep inside Lebanon. Lebanese officials and human rights groups have alleged that Israel has used white phosphorus munitions in southern Lebanon.
Around 200,000 people have been forced to flee on both sides of the Blue Line that separates the two countries, and anger is growing in Israel as people call on the government to prevent further attacks.
“Today’s attack by Hezbollah crossed all red lines and must be responded to accordingly. We are approaching the moment of all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Axios.
The attack marked a serious escalation of tensions following a volley of rockets fired from southern Lebanon at several towns in the occupied Golan Heights, much of which is claimed by Hezbollah.
But Hezbollah leader Mohammed Afif told Reuters he denied responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams. The militant group said in a statement it had “nothing to do with this incident” and accused hostile media of making “false accusations.”
The Lebanese government condemned the attack amid fears of an escalation of the regional conflict. “The targeting of civilians is a clear violation of international law and contrary to the principles of humanity,” it said in a statement, and demanded an “immediate cessation of hostilities.”
Netanyahu’s office said he was returning early from a visit to the United States where he would meet with President Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
“As soon as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu learned of the disaster, he gave instructions to expedite his return to Israel as soon as possible,” they said.
The IDF and Israeli authorities blamed Hezbollah for the attack on Majdal Shams.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council, which has long been dedicated to brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, also condemned the attack. U.S. negotiators have been working for months to ease tensions on Israel’s northern border.
“As the world saw today, Israel continues to face serious threats to its security, and the United States will continue to support efforts to end these horrific attacks along the Blue Line. This must be a top priority,” they said.
“In response to the deaths of small children, we must not allow the deaths of these children to happen,” said Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister and security minister. [Hezbollah secretary general Hassan] Nasrallah should be beheaded. All of Lebanon must pay the price… Time to act!”
“My heart is broken by the shocking and tragic tragedy that occurred in the Druze village of Majdal Shams,” President Isaac Herzog said, accusing Hezbollah of attacking “children who went out to play soccer and never came back.”
The rocket barrage came after the Israeli air force struck the town of Kafr Qila in southern Lebanon, near the Lebanese-Israeli territorial border. The attack killed four people, including several Hezbollah members, according to Reuters and a Hezbollah statement.
The Israeli military also said it intercepted a drone from Lebanon targeting an offshore gas rig, while Lebanon’s state news agency reported an Israeli drone attack had struck the border town of Odaisseh, starting a fire.
Artillery bombardment of the city of Mais el-Jabal in southern Lebanon also sparked fires, and Israeli fighter jets broke the speed of sound over the southern city of Tyre.
