At least 11 children were killed and 20 other people were injured in a rocket strike at a soccer field in Israel, the authorities said. It was the deadliest strike on an Israeli target along the country's northern border since the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began, which raised fears of a border regional war. Israel blamed Hezbollah for the strike in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, however, the latter rushed to deny any role. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Hezbollah that it “will pay a heavy price for this attack, one that it has not paid so far”.
The Israeli military's chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, called it the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since the Hamas attack on October 7 that sparked the war in Gaza.
“There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed all the red lines here, and the response will reflect that,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israeli Channel 12. We are nearing the moment in which we face an all-out war.”
Hezbollah chief spokesman Mohammed Afif told The Associated Press that the group “categorically denies carrying out an attack on Majdal Shams.”
Netanyahu to cut short his US visit
The office of Netanyahu, who was on a visit to the United States, said that he would cut short his trip by several hours, however, details were not given when he would return. It said that he will convene the security cabinet after his arrival. Far-right members of Netanyahu's government called for a harsh response against Hezbollah.
Footage aired on Israeli Channel 12 showed a large blast in one of the valleys in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed in 1981. Some Druze have Israeli citizenship. Many still have sympathies for Syria and rejected Israeli annexation, but their ties with Israeli society have grown over the years. Video showed paramedics rushing stretchers off the soccer field toward waiting ambulances.
(With AP inputs)
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