Suspected Hezbollah Attack Kills Many Druze Children: Israel Vows Retaliation
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
A suspected Hezbollah rocket strike killed 12 young people in the Druze area of the Golan Heights – which Israel occupies. The Druze children and teenagers were killed when the rocket strike hit a football field.
Druze communities in Majdal Shams and the surrounding region are in utter shock.
Israel annexed this part of Syria in the Golan Heights after the conflict of 1967.
Reuters reports, “Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams, the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza, which has since spread to several fronts and now risks spilling into a wider regional conflict.”
However, Israel is adamant that Hezbollah is responsible for the massacre of Druze children and teenagers.
The Foreign Ministry of Israel said, “The rocket that murdered our boys and girls was an Iranian rocket and Hezbollah is the only terror organization which has those in its arsenal.”
The Druze in Lebanon and Syria condemned the rocket strike while refraining from blaming Hezbollah directly. This concerns the delicate situation in both nations along with the Golan Heights.
Jaber Jadvan (Chairman of Druze authorities) said, “… because of the sensitivity of the situation, we ask you not to turn the massacre into a political event. We are requesting a quiet religious funeral according to Druze custom.”
Israel is vowing revenge for the deeds of Hezbollah.
Accordingly, Israel Katz (Foreign Minister of Israel) said, “There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed all the red lines here, and the response will reflect that… We are nearing the moment in which we face an all-out war.”
AP reports, “Hezbollah 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.”
However, Mohammed Afif (Chief Spokesperson for Hezbollah) says Hezbollah “categorically denies carrying out an attack on Majdal Shams.”
Daniel Hagari (Israel Defense Forces spokesperson) said the rocket was an Iranian-made Falaq-1 “owned exclusively by Hezbollah.”
He continued by saying that Hezbollah is “lying and denying responsibility for the incident.”
Since the brutal pogrom of Jews by Hamas, tensions have erupted between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hence, over 450 people have been killed in Southern Lebanon from airstrikes by Israel (the majority killed were members of Hezbollah but also 90 civilians). Similarly, 44 people have been killed by Hezbollah in Israel (including 23 civilians).
Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif (Druze community leader in the area hit) said the “horrific massacre” had crossed “every possible red line.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken uttered, “Every indication is that indeed the rocket was from Hezbollah” and America stands firmly with “Israel’s right to defend” itself. However, America does not want to see the conflict spreading.
The government of Lebanon said the nation “condemns all acts of violence and aggression against all civilians and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts.”
Heightened tensions after this massacre threaten to unleash the possibility of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah – with Iran hiding behind its various proxies.
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