A rocket attack on a soccer ground in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights on Saturday killed at least 12 people, mostly children, Israeli authorities said, blaming Hezbollah and vowing to respond against the Iran-backed Lebanese group.
Hezbollah, which the United States designates as a terrorist organization, denied any responsibility for the strike, which was the deadliest in Israel or Israel-controlled territory since the start of the Gaza conflict, which sparked by the Hamas terror group’s deadly incursion that killed hundreds of Israelis.
Dmitri Gendelman, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wrote in a post on Telegram shortly before 7 p.m. local time that the rocket strike had killed nine and injured over 30.
Later, the official Israeli government channel on X updated that the number of those killed to 11 and then at least 12 between the ages of 10 and 20 in another update by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference late Saturday.
Ten died at the scene and two in hospital, officials said.
Mr. Gendelman called the attack a major escalatory move and vowed that it would be met with a stern response.
“This is a serious escalation, aggression by the terrorist organization Hezbollah, and Israel’s response will be very tough—we will take all necessary measures to restore security on the northern border,” he wrote.
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire in areas at or near the Lebanese-Israeli border since the eruption of hostilities in Gaza. The conflict has stirred fears of an all-out war between the heavily armed adversaries.
“The Prime Minister stressed that Israel will not leave this deadly attack unanswered and Hezbollah will pay the highest price for this, such as it has never paid,” he wrote.
Hezbollah issued a written statement denying any responsibility.
“The Islamic Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with the incident, and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard,” the group wrote, per Reuters.
Earlier, Hezbollah had announced several rocket attacks targeting Israeli military positions in other locations from Lebanon.
“From the analysis of the IDF’s operational systems, the rocket launch at the center of Majdal Shams was carried out from an area located north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon. According to reliable intelligence information in the possession of the IDF, Hezbollah is behind the attack,” the statement reads.
Mr. Hagari said that the rocket at the scene has been identified as an Iranian-made Falaq-1. “The forensic findings at the scene point to this rocket. Falaq-1 is only in use by the Hezbollah terror group, which carried out this attack from Chebaa,” he said.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, said the attack had been directed from Chebaa by Hezbollah commander Ali Muhammad Yahya.
Mr. Netanyahu, who was due to head back from the United States to Israel overnight on Saturday, said he would bring his flight forward and convene his security cabinet upon arrival.
The IDF said in a later update that, “Overnight, the IAF struck a series of Hezbollah terror targets both deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon, including weapons caches and terrorist infrastructure in the areas of Chabriha, Borj El Chmali, and Beqaa, Kfarkela, Rab El Thalathine, Khiam, and Tayr Harfa.”
Hezbollah is the most powerful of a network of Iran-backed groups across the Middle East that have entered the fray in support of their Palestinian ally Hamas since October.
Iran-backed Iraqi groups and the Houthis of Yemen have both fired at Israel, while Hamas has also carried out rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon.
Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the UNIFIL peacekeeping force which operates in southern Lebanon, told Reuters that its force commander is in contact with authorities in both Lebanon and Israel “to understand the details of the Majdal Shams incident and to maintain calm.”
