A strike on a football pitch in a remote town in the occupied Golan Heights killed at least 10 young people, amid a daylong barrage of rocket fire from Lebanon targeting Israeli territory.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said “large numbers” of ambulances were dispatched to the scene to treat the casualties, all aged between 10 and 20 years old. Video and imagery showed young casualties strewn across the grass, some wearing sports shirts.
The attack struck the predominantly Druze town of Majdal Shams in the mountainous Golan Heights, close to the border with Syria. Israel has occupied the area since 1967, annexing it in 1981.
The strike marked a grave escalation after a volley of rocket fire from southern Lebanon directed at several towns in the occupied Golan Heights.
Mohammad Afif, a senior Hezbollah official, denied responsibility for the strike on Majdal Shams, speaking to Reuters. In a statement, the militant group said it had “absolutely nothing to do with the incident”, accusing hostile media outlets of “false allegations”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would fly home early from a visit to the US, where he met president Joe Biden, vice-president and candidate Kamala Harris, and former president Donald Trump.
“Immediately upon learning of the disaster, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed that his return to Israel be brought forward as quickly as possible,” they said.
The Israel Defense Forces as well as Israeli officials attributed the strike to Hezbollah.
“The heart breaks in the face of the shocking and terrible disaster in the Druze village of Majdal Shams,” said Israeli president Isaac Herzog, accusing Hezbollah of attacking “children whose only sin was going out to play football. And never returned.”
The barrage of rocket fire followed a strike by the Israeli air force on the town of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon, close to the line that demarcates Lebanese and Israeli territory. The strike killed four, including several members of Hezbollah, according to Reuters and a statement from the group.
Israeli forces also said they intercepted a drone from Lebanon targeting an offshore gas rig, while Lebanon’s state-run news agency said an Israeli drone attack struck the border town of Odaisseh sparking a fire.
Artillery on the town of Meiss el-Jabal also started fires in southern Lebanon, while Israeli fighter jets broke the sound barrier over the southern city of Tyre.