Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday that Israel would respond to the “massacre” of youth and children in a Druze village near the Lebanese border. It blamed Tehran for the attack and also warned of a “last chance” for diplomacy.
At least 12 people were killed in a rocket attack on a football field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday.
Majdal Shams is mainly inhabited by Druze, an Arabic-speaking religious community.
Israel said Iran-backed Hezbollah carried out the attack and vowed to retaliate. The Shiite militia denied involvement.
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said during a visit to the site of the rocket attack on Saturday evening that the rocket used to hit the village was an Iranian rocket with a 53-kilogram warhead.
UN officials have called on both sides to exercise “maximum restraint” amid growing fears the attack could spark an all-out war in the region.
Israel ministry warns: ‘last chance’ for diplomacy
“The missile that killed our boys and girls was an Iranian missile, and Hezbollah is the only terrorist organization that has such missiles in its arsenal,” said Oren Marmorstein, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
“Israel will exercise its right and duty to act in self-defense and will respond to the carnage… The world must now place full responsibility on Iran and its terrorist proxies: Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.”
“The only way the world can avoid a large-scale war that would also be devastating for Lebanon is to force Hezbollah to implement Security Council Resolution 1701.”
The resolution calls on Hezbollah to withdraw beyond the Litani River, some 30 kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon border.
“Now is the very last moment to do this diplomatically,” Marmorstein warned.
Lebanon reports series of Israeli attacks
Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on Lebanon on Sunday morning in retaliation for a deadly attack on the Golan Heights, Lebanon’s official news agency NNA reported.
An Israeli strike targeted a house in the town of Burj al-Shemali, near Tyre, injuring residents and causing extensive damage.
Israeli warplanes have carried out multiple attacks on the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, causing no casualties, NNA reported.
In addition, the NNA reported that an Israeli drone fired two missiles at a house about 70 kilometers from the capital Beirut, causing material damage.
Earlier, the Israeli Air Force reported that it had struck several Hezbollah targets in Lebanon overnight.
The targets included weapons depots and combat infrastructure, the Israeli military reported Sunday via Telegram, and video footage was also released purportedly showing the strikes overnight.
It was not possible to independently verify the claims.
Germany condemns attack on village
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned the rocket attack on Sunday and called for “cool heads,” saying that “far too many people have already died in this conflict” in a post on X.
“It is horrible that children and young people who just wanted to play football were murdered. My condolences go out to their families,” Baerbock wrote.
Israel and Hamas-affiliated Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily since the war in Gaza began on October 7 last year.
The intensity of these clashes in northern Israel and southern Lebanon has increased significantly recently, with deaths on both sides, raising fears that the conflict could spread further into the region.
Israel captured the Golan Heights, a rocky plateau of strategic importance, in 1967 and annexed the area in 1981. Under international law, however, the area is considered Syrian territory occupied by Israel.
More than 50,000 people live in the area, just over half of whom are Jewish Israelis, along with Druze and a small Alawite minority.
People mourn at the funeral of their relatives in the Druze town of Majd al-Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Several children and young people were killed in a rocket attack on a football field in the village. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
People mourn at the funeral of their relatives in the Druze town of Majd al-Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Several children and young people were killed in a rocket attack on a football field in the village. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
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