Israel strikes Hezbollah targets after soccer stadium attack

The Israeli air force said it had struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, after 12 children and teenagers were killed in a rocket attack while playing soccer in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israel blamed the Lebanese militant group for the attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams on Saturday, but Hezbollah has steadfastly denied any involvement.

Early Sunday morning, the IDF said it carried out airstrikes on seven Hezbollah targets “deep inside Lebanese territory”. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

The rising tensions have the potential to spark all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, which have clashed frequently since the Israel-Gaza war broke out in October.

Saturday’s bloodshed at the town’s soccer stadium was the worst loss of life in and around Israel’s northern border since October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel.

The fighting with Hezbollah, which had previously been sporadic, escalated when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli positions a day after the Hamas attack, in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against Hezbollah immediately after Saturday’s airstrike, saying the group would “pay a heavy price”.

Hours later, the Israeli Air Force said it had struck “terrorist targets” including “weapons depots and terrorist infrastructure” overnight.

ONE United Nations Statement said “maximum restraint” was vital for all sides, with the risk of a wider conflict that could “plunge the entire region into an unbelievable disaster”.

Hezbollah spokesman Mohamad Afif denied responsibility for the attack, and the BBC is trying to verify reports that the militant group told the United Nations the blast was caused by an Israeli interceptor missile.

The Israeli foreign ministry released the names and ages of 10 of the dead, saying they were children between the ages of 10 and 16. An eleventh person was named but did not give his age. Details of the twelfth casualty have not yet been confirmed.

Verified video shows crowds on the soccer field and stretchers being taken to waiting ambulances.

Majdal Shams is one of four villages in the Golan Heights that is home to about 25,000 members of the Arabic-speaking Druze religious and ethnic group.

Before reports of the attack’s impact emerged, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for four other attacks.

One base is located in a nearby military complex on the slopes of Mount Hermon, which straddles the border between the Golan Heights and Lebanon. The base is about 3 km (2 mi) from the football field.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, who visited the scene of the attack, accused Hezbollah of “lying and denying responsibility for the incident”.

He said the missile was an Iranian-made Falaq-1 “exclusively owned by Hezbollah”.

“Our intelligence is clear. Hezbollah is responsible for the killing of innocent children,” he said, adding that Israel was preparing to retaliate.

Although Israel and Hezbollah regularly exchange fire and suffer casualties, both sides have refrained from actions that could escalate into a larger war in southern Lebanon since October.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was visiting the United States, had to return home early.

In an angry statement, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, leader of Israel’s Druze community, said the “horrific massacre” crossed “every possible red line”.

“A true nation cannot allow its citizens and residents to be continually harmed. This is the reality that has been playing out in northern communities for the past nine months,” he added.

“We are facing an all-out war,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israel’s Channel 12 news.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the incident a “horrific and shocking tragedy” and said that “the state of Israel will resolutely defend its citizens and its sovereignty”.

The Lebanese government also issued a rare statement in response, saying it “condemns all acts of violence and aggression against the entire civilian population and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts.

“Targeting civilians is a flagrant violation of international law and goes against humanitarian principles,” the statement added.

The United States and the EU also condemned the attack.

UN Special Envoy Tor Wennesland condemned the incident and called on all sides to exercise restraint.

“The Middle East is on the brink; the world and the region cannot afford another open conflict,” he wrote on X.

Most Druze live in northern Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. In Israel, they have full citizenship and make up about 1.5% of the population.

People living in the Golan were granted Israeli citizenship when the area was annexed from Syria in 1981, but not everyone accepted it.

Druze in the Golan can still study and work in Israel, although only those with citizenship are allowed to vote.

Israeli male Druze are required to serve in the military. They are the largest non-Jewish group in the IDF.

Most of the international community does not recognize Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.

Additional reporting by Mallory Moench