After Hezbollah rocket kills 12 Israeli children, Israel vows ‘heavy blow’ and politicians call for all-out war; Tehran warns ‘adventures’ in Lebanon could spiral out of control
By AGENCIES and TOI STAFFToday, 12:34 pm
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani speaks during a press conference in the capital Tehran on December 5, 2022. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Iran warned Israel on Sunday that any new military “adventures” in Lebanon could lead to “unforeseen consequences,” as Israel vowed a harsh response to a rocket attack by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group that killed 12 children in the Druze town of Majdal Shams a day earlier.
“Any ignorant action of the Zionist regime can lead to the broadening of the scope of instability, insecurity and war in the region,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, adding that Israel would be responsible for “the unforeseen consequences and reactions to such stupid behavior.”
The Israel Defense Forces struck a series of Hezbollah targets overnight Saturday, including weapon depots and other infrastructure near Tyre and across southern Lebanon.
In addition to Hezbollah, Iran supports the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip, which has been at war with Israel since its cross-border assault on October 7, when thousands of terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Iran also supports the Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as militias in Iraq and Syria, all of which have targeted Israel and its allies since the war’s start.
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Israeli leaders from across the political spectrum called for a swift and harsh response against Hezbollah after an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket struck a soccer field Saturday in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, killing 12 children and wounding dozens more.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi speaks with members of the Druze community after a deadly Hezbollah rocket attack on the northern Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams, July 27, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Israel is “approaching the moment of an all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon,” said Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Saturday, declaring that Hezbollah “crossed all red lines” in the strike, and pledging that the terror group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah would be destroyed and that Lebanon would be severely damaged.
He said the Foreign Ministry is preparing for an international campaign “to obtain support and legitimacy for Israeli action in Lebanon and to point the finger directly at Iran.”
An unnamed Israeli security source told Sky News Arabic on Saturday night, however, that Israel does not “intend to spark a war.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he cut short his trip in the US following the attack in Majdal Shams and was expected back in Israel early Sunday afternoon, a few hours before the decision-making security cabinet is set to convene at Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu told Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, on Saturday that “Israel will not allow the murderous attack to simply go by, and that Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for this that it has not paid until this point,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was briefed by top military and security officials on Israel’s options “for action against Hezbollah,” in a meeting attended by Halevi and the heads of the Shin Bet and Mossad.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visits the scene of a deadly Hezbollah rocket attack in Majdal Shams, July 28, 2024 (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
In a visit to Majdal Shams late Saturday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told community leaders that the deadly attack on the Druze town would be met with a “very, very significant response” from Israel, vowing, “We will hit Hezbollah hard.”
Halevi said the military is “greatly increasing its readiness for “the next stage in the fighting in the north,” while continuing to battle Hamas in Gaza. “We are able to attack even very far from the State of Israel. There will be more challenges, we will raise our readiness,” he said.
“When required, we will act strongly. Our duty is to return the residents of the north safely to their homes, in the entire north, the Galilee and the Golan Heights… it is a difficult day — we will work for better days,” Halevi added.
He noted that Israel is certain Hezbollah was responsible for the attack, despite the terror group’s denial of responsibility. “We know exactly where the rocket was launched from,” Halevi said, adding that “it is a Falaq rocket with a 53-kilogram warhead,” which no group in Lebanon possesses other than Hezbollah, according to the IDF.
American intelligence officials agree with the Israeli assessment, according to the Associated Press, which cited a source close to US intelligence officials, who said they “they have no doubts that Hezbollah carried out the attack,” but are not confident that the location was intentionally targeted.
Chief of the IDF Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin meets with local officials at the site of a rocket impact in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, July 27, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Since October 8 of last year, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
The attack on Majdal Shams came amid what appeared to be a crucial point in negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza, following Israeli advances in battle.
So far, the skirmishes with Hezbollah have resulted in 24 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 18 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 381 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 68 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.
The US is concerned about escalation following the strike, with one US official telling Axios on Saturday, “What happened today could be the trigger we have been worried about and tried to avoid for 10 months.”
Still, the White House said its support for Israel’s security is “iron-clad and unwavering against all Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah.”
(Top row, L-R) Ameer Rabeea Abu Saleh, 16, Iseel Nasha’at Ayoub, 12, Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 15, Milad Muadad Alsha’ar, 10 (Middle row, L-R) Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, 11, Naji Taher Alhalabi, 11, Johnny Wadeea Ibrahim, 13, Yazan Nayeif Abu Saleh, 12 (Bottom row, L-R) Fajer Laith Abu Saleh, 16, Vinees Adham Alsafadi, 11 Nathem Fakher Saeb, 16, who were killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams on July 27, 2024
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Saturday described “shocking images” from the site of the attack, calling the scene a “bloodbath” and calling for “an independent international investigation into this unacceptable incident.
“We urge all parties to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation,” Borrell said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Lebanon’s government, in a statement that didn’t mention Majdal Shams, urged an “immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts” and condemned all attacks on civilians.
The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon and the head of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon urged “maximum restraint” on Saturday night, warning that the near-daily clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border have the potential to “engulf” the region in “catastrophe beyond belief.”
In Israel, meanwhile, far-right members of the coalition insisted on a full-scale war, reiterating calls that they have been making for months.
“For the deaths of little children, [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah should pay with his head,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted on X, asserting that it was “time for action” and that “Lebanon as a whole has to pay the price.”
Family and friends mourn during the funeral service of druze children who were killed at a soccer field from a missile fired from Lebanon, in the druze village of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, July 28, 2024. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that “since October 8 I have said that we are in a state of war in the north and the enemy needs to be defeated,” but Israeli decision-makers “avoided acknowledging that we are in a battle against Hezbollah for 10 months.” He called for “war in the north now!”
Members of the opposition also came out strongly in favor of retaliation against Hezbollah, with New Hope MK Michel Buskila demanding that Jerusalem “tear Beirut apart” and Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman declaring that Nasrallah must “pay the price” for his actions.
National Unity party leader Benny Gantz visited Majdal Shams late Saturday, saying Israel has a “strategic obligation to restore security to the north and the people to their homes,” while also calling for the return of hostages from Gaza. “This has gone on for too long,” he added.
In a statement, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid demanded that the government “put an end to the abandonment of the north.”
Emanuel Fabian and Sam Sokol contributed to this report.