10 killed, 34 hurt in deadliest Hezbollah attack on Israel-occupied Golan Heights

At least 10 children have been killed and more than two dozen have been injured in a rocket attack in Majdal Shams in Israel-occupied Golan Heights.

The rocket attack is the deadliest so far in northern Israel along the border with Lebanon where Hezbollah has been bombarding the region for months. The latest attack has raised the fears of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Following the attack, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Hezbollah crossed “all red lines” with the bombing.

The Israeli government shared a video from the site of attack on X (formerly Twitter) that quoted a witness as saying that the victims were all children.

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Horrific: parents in Majdal Shams are looking for their children following a deadly Hezbollah rocket attack during a soccer game.

You can hear one woman shout out in Arabic “They are all children!”

No words. pic.twitter.com/cILszJHF8w

— Israel ישראל (@Israel) July 27, 2024

Majdal Shams is a town of the Druze people of Israel. The Druze are a unique Arab community that follows a distinct religion. They make up around 2 per cent of Israel’s population in the northern regions of the Galilee, Carmel, and the Golan Heights.

10 killed, 34 injured in Hezbollah’s attack, says Israel

While at least 10 children were killed in the attack, around 34 were injured, said the Israeli ambulance service in a statement quoted by The Jerusalem Post.

The newspaper further reported that at least six of those injured are critical.

The deaths and injuries occurred when a rocket hit a playground in Majdal Shams where young people aged 10-20 were playing football.

“All the fatalities are children, aged 10 to 20. We share in the grief of the families and embrace the Druze community in its difficult time…From the Israeli Air Force’s investigation it has emerged that a single rocket,” said Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

Even as the Hezbollah said it was not involved in the attack, Hagari said the Iran-backed terrorist group was lying.

“In the past hour, Hezbollah has been lying and denying responsibility for the incident. Our intelligence is clear, Hezbollah is responsible for the murder of innocent children. Once again the brutality of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization is exposed. This is a very serious incident and we will act accordingly,” said Hagari.

‘We’re approaching all-out war with Hezbollah’

Following the attack, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Hezbollah had crossed all red lines and the two sides were approaching an all-out war.

Katz told journalist Barak Ravid, “The Hezbollah attack today crossed all red lines, and the response will be accordingly. We are approaching the moment of an all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon.”

Katz was further quoted as saying that Israel will finish off Nasrallah, a reference to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

“We will pay prices, but at the end of the war Nasrallah and Hezbollah will be destroyed and the state of Lebanon will be severely damaged and we will restore peace and security to the residents of the north,” said Katz, as per Ravid.

Katz told me: "We will pay prices, but at the end of the war Nasrallah and Hezbollah will be destroyed and the state of Lebanon will be severely damaged and we will restore peace and security to the residents of the north"

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) July 27, 2024

At least 40 rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon on Saturday, according to The Post. Hezbollah-affiliated media in Lebanon put the number at around 100.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, Israel and Hezbollah have been locked in fighting on a nearly-daily basis. On multiple occasions, the two sides have come close to an all-out war as the continued Hezbollah attacks in northern Israel have displaced several thousands Israelis for months. Israelis attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon have also killed hundreds of Hezbollah members. Hezbollah rocket barrages in northern Israel have at times set large swathes of territories ablaze and threatened to plunge Israel into a two-front war.

Hezbollah is part of the Iran-sponsored ‘Axis of Resistance’ in the Middle East. The bloc comprises terrorist groups like Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hezbollah, Houthis, and militias in Iraq and Syria. These groups are backed by Iran and share its opposition to the existence of the State of Israel and are committed to its destruction.

Hezbollah is the most powerful of these groups. The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its public assessment has said it has around 45,000 fighters and an arsenal of around 150,000 missiles and rockets of various types.