Israel launched swift retaliation yesterday as it blamed Hezbollah for a rocket attack that killed 12 children and young adults in the Golan Heights.
The strike on Saturday was the deadliest attack on Israeli-held territory since the Hamas assault in October that sparked the war in Gaza. Thousands of mourners attended funeral ceremonies yesterday after a rocket hit a pitch where children were playing football in Majdal Shams – a Syrian village seized by Israel in 1967, and occupied mainly by the Druze, an Arab minority who practise a form of Islam.
Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, which has been trading regular cross-border fire with Israel since October, insisted it had “absolutely nothing to do with” the attack, after previously saying it had struck Israeli military targets in the Golan Heights.
Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz raised the prospect of a fullscale conflict, telling Axios: “The Hezbollah attack today crossed all red lines, and the response will be accordingly. We are approaching the moment of an all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon.”
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu vowed there would be retaliation immediately after the deadly strike and returned from his visit to the United States early, claiming Hezbollah would “pay a heavy price”.
This story is from the July 29, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the July 29, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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