Israel bombs east and south Lebanon after rocket kills 12 in Golan
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday vowed to "hit the enemy hard" after rocket fire -- which Israel said came from Hezbollah -- killed 12 young people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and again raised fears that the war in Gaza will spread.
Iran warned Israel any new military "adventures" in Lebanon could lead to "unforeseen consequences."
Israel's army called it "the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians" since the October 7 attack that began the war in Gaza and triggered regular exchanges of fire across the Lebanese border.
Israel blamed Lebanon's Hezbollah for the rocket fire but the Iran-backed group -- which has regularly targeted Israeli military positions -- said it had "no connection" to the incident.
Hezbollah chief spokesman Mohammad Afif told The Associated Press that the group “categorically denies carrying out an attack" on the town of Majdal Shams.” It is unusual for Hezbollah to deny an attack.
- Netanyahu cuts short trip -
The rocket fire in Majdal Shams prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return early from the United States to convene his security cabinet.
"Israel will not let this murderous attack go unanswered and Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for it, a price it has not paid before," Netanyahu said.
The Israeli foreign ministry said Hezbollah had "crossed all red lines."
Israel's military said later Sunday it hit Hezbollah targets "both deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon."
An Israeli drone fired two missiles at the village of Taraya in the Baalbek district, destroying a hangar and a home without causing casualties, a Lebanese security source told AFP.
Simulatneous airstrikes in south Lebanon targeted al-Burj al-Shamali and Shabriha near the city of Tyre and the border towns of Tayr Harfa, Kfarkela and Khiam.
Hezbollah has said its cross-border fire is an act of support for Palestinian Islamists from Hamas who have been fighting Israel' military since October 7 when they attacked southern Israel.
The rocket strike on the Druze town of Majdal Shams hit a football pitch and killed young people aged 10 to 20, Israel's military said.
Gallant visited the scene early Sunday, standing with security forces beside the mangled fence and abandoned scooters.
- Call for restraint -
In the wake of the strike, an AFP photographer saw medics carrying casualties on stretchers at the scene, where dozens of residents had gathered.
The United Nations on Sunday urged "maximum restraint", in a joint statement from their special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) chief Aroldo Lazaro.
Intensifying exchanges of fire "could ignite a wider conflagration that would engulf the entire region in a catastrophe beyond belief," they said.
The United States National Security Council condemned what it described as a "horrific attack" in Majdal Shams.
The rocket fire on Majdal Shams came after an Israeli strike killed four Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon, prompting the militant group to announce a flurry of retaliatory rocket attacks against the Golan and northern Israel.
Lebanon's government called for "an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts."
Rhetoric on both sides escalated once again following the rocket strike.
"Any ignorant action of the Zionist regime can lead to the broadening of the scope of instability, insecurity and war in the region," said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani.
Israel's Foreign Ministry called the incident in Majdal Shams a "massacre" that "constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah" which the ministry accused of deliberately targeting civilians.
Israel's military said its analysis showed that the rocket was launched from an area north of the village of Shebaa in southern Lebanon.
Ha’il Mahmoud, a resident, told Channel 12 that children were playing football when the rocket hit the field. He said a siren was heard seconds before the rocket hit, but there was no time to take shelter.
Jihan Sfadi, the principal of an elementary school, told Channel 12 that five students were among the dead: “The situation here is very difficult. Parents are crying, people are screaming outside. No one can digest what has happened.”
Hezbollah on Saturday said its fighters carried out 10 different attacks using rockets and explosive drones against Israeli military posts, the last of which targeted the army command of the Haramoun Brigade in Maaleh Golani with Katyusha rockets. In a separate statement, Hezbollah said it hit the same army post with a short-range Falaq rocket. It said the attacks were in response to Israeli airstrikes on villages in southern Lebanon.
U.S. intelligence officials said they have no doubts that Hezbollah carried out the attack on the Golan Heights, but it was not clear if the militant group intended the target or misfired, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly.
The White House National Security Council in a statement said the U.S. “will continue to support efforts to end these terrible attacks along the Blue Line, which must be a top priority. Our support for Israel’s security is iron-clad and unwavering against all Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah.”
Majdal Shams is a Druze town where many residents have not accepted Israeli nationality since Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967. Druze traditionally follow an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
The violence since October has killed at least 527 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally. Most of the dead have been fighters but the toll includes at least 104 civilians.
On the Israeli side, 18 soldiers and 24 civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.
Tens of thousands of residents have been displaced from the border areas in both southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
In a speech to the United States Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu said Israel will do "whatever it must" to secure its northern border.
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said this month that if a ceasefire is reached in Gaza his group would stop cross-border attacks.
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press, Naharnet
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