11 children and young people killed in Hezbollah attack on a football field in Golan

At least eleven Israeli children and youths were killed and another 30 were injured as a result of the impact of a projectile on a soccer field in the Druze town of Izmir. Majdal Shams This is the deadliest attack on the Golan Heights so far Hezbollah As it launched an offensive of missiles, drones and projectiles as a “support front” for Hamas and the Gaza Strip in the face of a massive Israeli military offensive in response to the Islamist group’s attack on October 7 in southern Israel, late Saturday night they feared unprecedented retaliation from their enemy in nearly 10 months. Foresight is a powerful answer But without fighting.

Following the official statement of the Lebanese militia denying responsibility for the projectile that killed eleven Druze civilians, just two hours after generally acknowledging the attack in the area, the Israeli army announced: “According to our assessment and the intelligence in our power, the rocket was launched by the terrorist organization Hezbollah from the north of the village of Shebaa in southern Lebanon towards Majdal Shams.” Showing his “solidarity” with the Druze community, military spokesman Daniel Hagari admitted: “This is the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since October 7.”

Defined after one day “Point of Transition” Amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah and calls in the country’s north – which feels abandoned by the government in the face of the attacks – in favour of a “strong” response in Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister, benjamin netanyahu He decided to advance his return from the United States, which was scheduled for this Sunday. He will meet his security cabinet as soon as he arrives in the afternoon.

The Israeli military leadership held urgent discussions with the Defense Minister, Yoav Galantto decide the response “according to the magnitude of the attack”. Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared, “Hezbollah, a terrorist group backed by Iran, has crossed the red lines.” Asked by Channel 12 if they would respond unequivocally to the attack, Katz answered in the affirmative, confirming that the intensity of the Israeli bombing would be higher than that used since October.

The message from the United States to its ally is twofold. On the one hand, it supports the right to respond to an attack they consider “inevitable” and, on the other hand, supports doing so in a way that does not lead to a war like the one in 2006 and that both sides have tried to avoid in recent months.

Attacks on children and youth

The projectile that brings the parties closer to the end of several days of intense attacks in Israel and Lebanon hit Majdal Shams shortly after six o’clock in the afternoon. After the sirens were activated, a loud explosion was heard in the center of the Druze town, occupied by Israel in Syria since the 1967 war, the rocket with an explosive charge of 50 kg fell on a football field, near a park where a match was taking place. The dead are aged between 10 and 20 years old.

“Between the sirens and the explosion it was something very loud,” Druze Anan Amasha, still in shock, said in Majdal Shams, sending a message to the Druze in Lebanon: “They should know and say that Hezbollah is a terrorist group that attacked a group of children who just wanted to play football. One of the leaders of the Druze community, Rafiq Jalabi, said that “If Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah listened to me, I would say enough is enough, but he does not listen to me or Beirut. His leaders are in Tehran.”

Soon after the attack, Hezbollah indicated that a barrage of projectiles had been directed against its military base Harmon’s Brigade This was in response to the death of four members of its main unit (Radwan) in Israeli bombing of a weapons depot in the southern Lebanese town of Kafr Kila. Hezbollah’s response included dozens of shelling against several areas of the Galilee, where about 60,000 residents have been evacuated since October, and the Golan. The number of displaced people in southern Lebanon is around 90,000.

Hezbollah denies carrying out the attack

Later and in an official statement, Hezbollah denies any connection to the fatality Rocket in Majdal Shams: “The Islamic Resistance has nothing to do with this incident and categorically denies all false accusations in this regard.” Since October, Nasrallah has said that peace will return only when “Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip ends.” The Lebanese government, for its part, has called for an immediate cessation of “acts of violence and attacks against civilians in all areas of the “fronts”.

“We prefer the diplomatic option so that Hezbollah stops attacking us and moves away from our borders, but if there is no other option, we will seek it by military means”Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden at their meeting in Washington last Thursday that his focus was on negotiating a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and releasing the hostages. This Saturday, some ministers called for the “finishing” of Nasrallah in Beirut, “The attack on Majdal Shams will have dramatic consequences in the escalation against Hezbollah,” Israeli sources say.

A few days earlier and in response to Hezbollah’s projectiles and perhaps to calm internal pressure, the head of the Air Force, Tomer Bar, warned: “We are ready for war. Our responsibility to implement all operational plans is complete. And “there will be a crushing blow as deadly as possible against the enemy we know.”