Israel: At least twelve children and adolescents die in rocket attack on Golan Heights
According to the Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom, 20 more teenagers were injured in the attack. "Hisbollah terrorists brutally attacked and murdered children today, whose only crime was going out to play football. They did not return," Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated. The spokesperson for the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, spoke of the "deadliest attack against Israeli civilians since October 7."
The Israeli Druse live mainly in the north of Israel in Galilee and the Carmel Mountains. Around 23,000 Druse live on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. After Israel's occupation of the Golan in 1967, they remained in place. The independent Arabic-speaking religious community originated from a split from Shia Islam and settles mainly in Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan today.
The rocket fire occurred after four Hisbollah fighters were killed in an Israeli attack - prompting the Iran-backed armed militia to threaten retaliatory attacks on the Golan Heights and northern Israel.
Later, Hisbollah announced that a dozen retaliatory attacks had been carried out on Israeli targets - a total of nine attacks in two hours. However, they immediately denied responsibility for the rocket strike on Majdal Shams. "The Islamic Resistance has no connection to this incident," Hisbollah's military wing stated.
Israeli military spokesperson Hagari declared in the early hours of Sunday that the rocket that hit Majdal Shams was a Falak-1 rocket of Iranian origin with a 50-kilogram explosive charge. This model is "exclusively in the possession of Hisbollah."
The Israeli government announced a harsh military response to the attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement to a local community leader that Israel would not "leave the murderous attack unanswered," and that Hisbollah would "pay a price they have never paid before." Military spokesperson Hagari said, "It's about the Druze community, about Israeli citizens," and added, "We will defend the citizens of Israel and the Druze community."
Netanyahu returned to Israel from his multi-day visit to the United States immediately after the attack. Later, he announced that he would discuss the situation with his security cabinet.
According to reports from Lebanese security sources, an Israeli drone fired two rockets at the village of Tarajjah in eastern Lebanon a few hours after the attack. A hangar and a house were reportedly hit, but no casualties were reported.
The US government confirmed its "unwavering support for Israel's security" in the wake of the deadly attack. This applies "against all terrorist groups, including the Lebanese Hisbollah," and is of "highest priority," a spokesperson for the National Security Council in Washington said.
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell wrote in a statement on the attack on the Druse village in the online service X about "shocking images" and added, "We need an independent international investigation into this unacceptable incident." Borrell did not mention Hisbollah but urged "all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to prevent further escalation."
The UN called for "greatest restraint" after the attack. In a joint statement by the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (Unifil), Aroldo Lázaro, it was stated that further exchange of gunfire could "ignite a larger fire that would turn the entire region into an unimaginable catastrophe."
Since the war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip began, Hisbollah, which is allied with Hamas, fires rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel almost daily. For months, tens of thousands of evacuees have not been able to return to their homes.
The Lebanese government condemned "all acts of violence and aggression against civilians." "Attacking civilians is a flagrant violation of international law and contradicts the fundamental principles of humanity," it was stated.
The war in the Gaza Strip has been going on for more than nine months now. It was triggered by the unprecedented attack of the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas on Israel on October 7. According to Israeli reports, 1197 people were killed in a brutal manner and over 251 were taken hostage. Israel has been militarily targeting targets in the Gaza Strip since then. According to Hamas' statements, which are not independently verified, over 39,250 people have been killed so far.
- The EU Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, issued a statement expressing shock over the attack on the Druse village, urging all parties to exercise restraint and prevent further escalation.
- The Israeli government, following the attack, announced a harsh military response, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing that Hisbollah would pay a price they have never paid before.
- The Israeli Druse community, living primarily in Galilee and the Carmel Mountains, and some 23,000 Druse on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, were targeted in the rocket attack.
- In response to the Israeli attack that killed four Hisbollah fighters, the Iran-backed militia threatened retaliatory attacks on the Golan Heights and northern Israel.
- The spokesperson for the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, identified the rocket that hit Majdal Shams as a Falak-1 rocket of Iranian origin, with a 50-kilogram explosive charge, exclusive to Hisbollah's possession.
- The UN called for the "greatest restraint" after the attack, warning that further exchange of gunfire could ignite a larger fire that would turn the entire region into an unimaginable catastrophe.
- The US government expressed its "unwavering support for Israel's security" in response to the deadly attack, condemning all terrorist groups, including Hisbollah.
- Netanyahu returned to Israel immediately after the attack and announced that he would discuss the situation with his security cabinet, promising to respond to the attack.
- Hezbollah denied responsibility for the rocket strike on Majdal Shams, stating that the Islamic Resistance had no connection to the incident.
- The children injured in the attack were playing football, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned Hezbollah for brutally attacking and murdering them.
- Syria, a neighbor to Lebanon, is believed to be aiding Hisbollah in its operations, despite denying any involvement in the conflict with Israel in the Golan Heights.
