A rocket attack on a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Saturday resulted in the deaths of at least ten people and injured several others, including children. This incident follows an earlier Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon that killed three members of the militant Hezbollah group.
The strike, which is the deadliest on an Israeli target since the latest round of fighting between the two foes began in October, has heightened fears of a wider conflict in the region. According to Hezbollah, the rocket attack was a retaliatory measure against an Israeli attack on a village in Lebanon. However, Hezbollah’s chief spokesman, Mohammed Afif, told The Associated Press that the group “categorically denies carrying out an attack on Majdal Shams.”
In contrast, the Israeli military has pointed to intelligence suggesting that Hezbollah was indeed responsible for the attack. “The Hezbollah terrorist organization is behind the rocket launch at a soccer field in Majdal Shams which caused multiple civilian casualties, including children, earlier this evening,” said an Israeli military statement.
Israel’s Magen David Adom paramedic service initially reported 11 people wounded, nine of them critically, and all between the ages of 10 and 20. Israeli Public Broadcaster Kan aired footage showing some of the victims being rushed to ambulances on stretchers from the soccer field in Majdal Shams.
“These were kids at a soccer field,” Beni Ben Muvchar, head of the local council, told Israeli Channel 12. “Today a red line was crossed,” he said, calling on Israeli leaders to begin targeting top Hezbollah commanders.
The Israeli military identified one projectile crossing from Lebanon towards the area and stated it was working with the MDA to evacuate the wounded. Channel 12 aired footage of a large blast in one of the town’s valleys.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing Katyusha rockets at an Israeli army post in the Golan Heights, stating that it was in response to Israeli airstrikes on villages in southern Lebanon. The group earlier reported that three of its members had been killed on Saturday but did not specify where. Israel’s military indicated that its air force had targeted a Hezbollah arms depot in the border village of Kfar Kila, noting that militants were present at the time.
The Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed in 1981, has been a contentious region. Since the war in Gaza started after Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7, which killed around 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage, Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in almost daily exchanges of fire. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 39,000 people according to local health authorities, displaced over 80% of the territory’s population, and triggered a humanitarian crisis.
Over recent weeks, the exchange of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border has intensified, with Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah’s rocket and drone attacks reaching further into each other’s territories. Since early October, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed over 450 people, mostly Hezbollah members, along with about 90 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 21 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed.
As the violence continues to escalate, the prospect of a broader regional conflict looms large, with civilians caught in the crossfire.
Credit: AP
