Israel announced hitting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in reprisal attacks to the murder of 12 youngsters in a rocket strike. The country’s air force has blamed Hezbollah for the attack on the kids who were playing football in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. However, Hezbollah denies any links with the attacks.
Israel “Retaliates” after Linking Hezbollah to Rocket Attack
Earlier in the week, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had executed air strikes against seven Hezbollah targets within Lebanese territory. The air strikes come a few hours after a rocket strike killed dozens of Israeli children, in the deadliest loss of life in Israel's northern region since the October attacks by Hamas.
According to a report from the Israeli foreign ministry, 10 of the youngsters killed last Saturday were between ages 10 and 16. The ministry also revealed the identities of eleven casualties while they're yet to confirm the Identity of the previous victim.
Verified online videos depict crowds of people around the football pitch while others rushed stretchers to ambulances. The rocket attack occurred in Majdal Shams, one of the four towns in Golan Heights, with a significant population of the 25,000-strong Arabic-speaking Druze ethnic group. Thousands of people reportedly attended the burial of the victims of the attack.
Following the incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised an instant retaliation after the event, declaring that the accused group would pay "a heavy price." Israel took to their words as its air force announced targeting persons and regions linked to Hezbollah, including infrastructure and buildings related to the Iran-backed military group, hours after the football pitch attack.
“Blatant Israeli Aggression”
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati has condemned the IDF’s actions as “blatant Israeli aggression’’, tagging the raids a "criminal act," while accusing the operations of ‘‘killing civilians.” Meanwhile, immediately after the supposedly Hezbollah attack on Beirut, Israeli’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Hezbollah “crossed the line” in a social media post, apparently referring to the Saturday’s rocket strike.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Afif, spokesman for Hezbollah, has reportedly denied any involvement with Saturday's attack in Majdal Shams. In response, Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the IDF, accused the group of "lying", while disclosing that Israeli intelligence discovered that the rocket was an "Iranian-made Falaq-1" which the IDF says belongs to Hezbollah exclusively.
Experts say the building tensions could trigger a full-fledged conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group. Both forces have constantly exchanged fireworks, since an initial Hezbollah attack followed the October 7 Hamas massacre in support of Palestine.
While reports show that Israel informed the US before launching the Sunday attack, the US Press Secretary says that President Joe Biden believes both parties could "avoid" a wider war.
Conclusion
Israel strikes Hezbollah targets after a football pitch attack kills 12 Israeli children. Hezbollah denies the attacks, while Israel insists intelligence reports spotlight Hezbollah links as fears about a full-fledged war between Israel and Hezbollah are on the rise following frequent and recurrent military exchanges between both parties.