Israel is blaming the strike on Hezbollah, which denies any responsibility and says an Israeli anti-rocket interceptor hit the children
On Sunday, members of the Arab Druze community in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights mourned 12 children who were killed when a rocket hit a soccer field in the village of Majdal Shams a day earlier.
Israel has pinned the blame for the rocket strike on Hezbollah, which denies any responsibility. According to Axios, Hezbollah told the UN that an Israeli anti-rocket interceptor hit the soccer field.
The US is backing Israel’s claim, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying there was “every indication” that Hezbollah was behind the strike. For its part, Syria has blamed the incident on Israel and said the Israeli government was trying to use it to escalate in Lebanon.
“As part of attempts to escalate the situation in the region, Israeli occupation entity committed a heinous crime on Saturday in Majdal Shams town and then held the Lebanese National Resistance accountable for this crime,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry said, according to The Cradle.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said, “Since the beginning of the war, Hezbollah has been targeting military sites and not civilians, and I don’t think that it carried out this attack in Majdal Shams.” He called for an investigation and said the attack must have been “carried out by other organizations, or it must have been an Israeli mistake, or a mistake by Hezbollah.”
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and annexed the territory in 1981. Under international law, the territory is considered to be Syrian and under Israeli occupation. In 2019, the US became the first country besides Israel to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
According to CNN, most of the Druze in the Golan Heights consider themselves Syrian and have rejected offers of Israeli citizenship. None of the 12 children who were killed were Israeli citizens.
During the funeral, mourners protested the participation of Israeli ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “Get out of here, you criminal. We don’t want you in the Golan,” one protester shouted at Smotrich, according to the Anadolu Agency.
Israeli ministers attended the funeral despite a request from community leaders not to come. “Do not come. Given the sensitivity of the situation, we ask not to turn this massacre into a political event. We demand a quiet religious funeral according to Druze customs,” the Druze Authority Forum said in a letter to Israeli government ministers.
Israeli officials are threatening a major attack in Lebanon in response to the rocket. The Israeli military launched strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, but more are expected. The Israeli Security Cabinet convened on Sunday to discuss a potential escalation, and the US is reportedly warning against strikes on Beirut.
A major Israeli attack could escalate the situation on the Israel-Lebanon border into a full-blown war. Since October 7, Israel and Hezbollah have been trading strikes across the border almost every day.
According to an AFP tally, Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon have killed at least 527 people, including 104 children. On the Israeli side, 18 soldiers and 24 civilians have been killed, a total that includes the 12 Druze children.