The Middle East braced for a potential outbreak of violence after Israeli authorities said a Lebanese rocket hit a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, killing 12 children and teenagers.
The military called the missile strike the deadliest attack on civilians ever, raising fears of a wider regional war between Israel and Hezbollah, APNews reports.
Will a missile strike on a soccer field trigger a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah?
The White House National Security Council said it had spoken with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts after the missile strike and was working on a diplomatic solution to “stop all attacks once and for all” in the border area between Israel and Lebanon.
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The Israeli military said it carried out strikes on a number of targets in Lebanon on Sunday night, although their intensity was similar to months of cross-border fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Hezbollah said it also carried out strikes. There were no reports of injuries.
Journalists note that the rocket attack occurred as Israel and Hamas were discussing a ceasefire proposal to end the nearly 10-month war in Gaza.
What happened?
On Saturday, a rocket hit a soccer field where dozens of children and teenagers were playing in the friendly town of Majdal Shams, about 12 kilometers south of Lebanon and near the Syrian border. According to the Israeli military, 12 people were killed and another 20 were injured. Residents told Israeli media that one 11-year-old child was missing.
— I feel darkness inside and outside. Nothing like this happened here. It is impossible to explain. I saw children, I don’t want to say what I saw, but it was terrible, really terrible, — said Anan resident Abu Saleh.
The Druze are a religious sect that arose as an offshoot of Shiite Islam and have communities in Israel, Syria and Lebanon. According to Yusri Hazran of Hebrew University, there are about 25,000 Druze living in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
Photo: Getty Images
Druzeare considered some of Israel's most loyal citizens, although those living in the Golan Heights have a more tense relationship with the government.
Israel captured the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau, from Syria during the 1967 Middle East War and annexed it in 1981. Much of the international community considers the area to be occupied territory.
While the leaders of the Friends of the Golan acknowledge Syria's allegiance, relations with Israel are generally good.
What this could mean for the escalation of the war?
Attacks along the Israel-Lebanon border have fallen short of all-out war since the Gaza conflict began. But the casualties of Saturday's attack could push Israel to a tougher response.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hezbollah “will pay a high price for this attack, which it has not paid before.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, July 28, that all indications are that the rocket came from Hezbollah.
Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevy said the rocket fired was a Falaq rocket with a 53-kilogram warhead belonging to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel the day after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Israel responded with airstrikes against Hezbollah military infrastructure.
Most of the strikes were limited to border areas, although Israel killed Hezbollah and Hamas leadership in northern Lebanon. Tens of thousands of people along the border were evacuated.
As journalists note, since the beginning of October 2023, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed more than 500 people, including about 90 civilians. On the Israeli side, 22 soldiers and 24 civilians were killed.
Hezbollah has much better firepower than Hamas.
— We are, let's say, unable to do it in both places, — igniting a war in northern Israel while it is being waged in Gaza will overwhelm the troops, — said Barak Ben-Zur, a researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism.
Lebanon is bracing for more fire from Israel. Lebanon's national airline said it had delayed the arrival of seven flights to Beirut until Monday morning, without giving a reason.
Interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati held urgent talks with diplomats and politicians, his office said.
— I doubt there will be a blow, but there is nothing far-fetched when it comes to the enemy, — said Abdallah Dalal, a resident of the village of Chebaa, which borders Lebanon.
Israeli officials said the rocket that hit Maidal Shams was fired nearby.
APNews journalists say any conflict could involve Iran, which has warned Israel that responding to a strike on the Golan Heights would have “unprecedented consequences.”
A shadow war between Iran and Israel erupted in April when Iran launched 300 missiles and drones at Israel, most of which were intercepted, in retaliation for the killing of an Iranian general.
The UN chief has called on all sides to exercise maximum restraint.
How it could affect the war in Gaza?
An Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attack on the Golan Heights could add urgency to talks on reaching a cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
— Both fronts are linked. A cease-fire in Gaza would lead to a cease-fire with Hezbollah, — he said.
In a statement, Egypt's Foreign Ministry called on all influential international players to “intervene immediately to save the peoples of the region from further catastrophic consequences of the widening conflict.”
Officials from the United States, Egypt and Qatar met with Israeli representatives in Rome on Sunday, July 28, in a final push for a deal.
The head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, has returned home and talks will continue in the coming days, Netanyahu's office said.
