1 year ago
75
TEL AVIV, Israel -- A rocket onslaught Saturday astatine a shot tract killed astatine slightest 12 children and teens, Israeli authorities said, successful the deadliest onslaught connected an Israeli people on the country's bluish borderline since the warring betwixt Israel and the Lebanese militant radical Hezbollah began. It raised fears of a broader determination war.
Israel blamed Hezbollah for the onslaught successful the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, but Hezbollah rushed to contradict immoderate role. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Hezbollah "will wage a dense terms for this attack, 1 that it has not paid truthful far."
The Israeli military's main spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, called it the deadliest onslaught connected Israeli civilians since the Hamas onslaught connected Oct. 7 that sparked the warfare successful Gaza. He said 20 others were wounded.
"There is nary uncertainty that Hezbollah has crossed each the reddish lines here, and the effect volition bespeak that," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israeli Channel 12. "We are nearing the infinitesimal successful which we look an all-out war."
Hezbollah main spokesperson Mohammed Afif told The Associated Press that the radical "categorically denies carrying retired an attack" connected the municipality of Majdal Shams." It is antithetic for Hezbollah to contradict an attack.
The bureau of Netanyahu, who was connected a sojourn to the United States, said helium would chopped abbreviated his travel by respective hours, without specifying erstwhile helium would return. It said helium volition convene the information Cabinet aft arriving.
Far-right members of Netanyahu's authorities called for a harsh effect against Hezbollah. But an all-out warfare with a militant radical with acold superior firepower to Hamas would beryllium trying for Israel's subject aft astir 10 months of warring successful Gaza.
Footage aired connected Israeli Channel 12 showed a ample blast successful 1 of the valleys successful the Druze municipality of Majdal Shams, successful the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria successful the 1967 Mideast warfare and annexed successful 1981. Some Druze person Israeli citizenship. Many inactive person sympathies for Syria and rejected Israeli annexation, but their ties with Israeli nine person grown implicit the years.
Video showed paramedics rushing stretchers disconnected the shot tract toward waiting ambulances.
Ha'il Mahmoud, a resident, told Channel 12 that children were playing shot erstwhile the rocket deed the field. He said a siren was heard seconds earlier the rocket hit, but determination was nary clip to instrumentality shelter.
Jihan Sfadi, the main of an simple school, told Channel 12 that 5 students were among the dead: "The concern present is precise difficult. Parents are crying, radical are screaming outside. No 1 tin digest what has happened."
Israel's subject said its investigation showed that the rocket was launched from an country northbound of the colony of Chebaa successful confederate Lebanon.
The Israeli subject said aboriginal Sunday that it struck targets heavy wrong Lebanon arsenic good arsenic successful confederate Lebanon. There were nary reports of casualties and the strikes were nary much aggravated than what has go regular implicit the past 10 months.
The onslaught astatine the shot field, conscionable earlier sunset, followed earlier cross-border unit connected Saturday, erstwhile Hezbollah said 3 of its fighters were killed, without specifying where. Israel's subject said its aerial unit targeted a Hezbollah arms depot successful the borderline colony of Kfar Kila, adding that militants were wrong astatine the time.
Hezbollah said its fighters carried retired 10 antithetic attacks utilizing rockets and explosive drones against Israeli subject posts, the past of which targeted the service bid of the Haramoun Brigade successful Maaleh Golani with Katyusha rockets. In a abstracted statement, Hezbollah said it deed the aforesaid service station with a short-range Falaq rocket. It said the attacks were successful effect to Israeli airstrikes connected villages successful confederate Lebanon.
U.S. quality officials person nary doubts that Hezbollah carried retired the onslaught connected the Golan Heights, but it was not wide if the militant radical intended the people oregon misfired, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the substance who was not authorized to remark publicly.
The White House National Security Council successful a connection said the U.S. "will proceed to enactment efforts to extremity these unspeakable attacks on the Blue Line, which indispensable beryllium a apical priority. Our enactment for Israel's information is iron-clad and unwavering against each Iranian-backed violent groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah."
Lebanon's government, successful a connection that didn't notation Majdal Shams, urged an "immediate cessation of hostilities connected each fronts" and condemned each attacks connected civilians.
Israel and Hezbollah person been trading occurrence since Oct. 8, a time aft Hamas militants stormed into confederate Israel. In caller weeks, the speech of occurrence on the Lebanon-Israel borderline has intensified, with Israeli airstrikes and rocket and drone attacks by Hezbollah striking deeper and farther distant from the border.
Majdal Shams had not been among borderline communities ordered to evacuate arsenic tensions rose, Israel's subject said, without saying why. The municipality doesn't beryllium straight connected the borderline with Lebanon.
Officials from countries including the United States and France person visited Lebanon to effort to easiness the tensions but failed to marque progress. Hezbollah has refused to cease firing arsenic agelong arsenic Israel's violative successful Gaza continues. Israel and Hezbollah fought an inconclusive warfare successful 2006.
Saturday's unit comes arsenic Israel and Hamas are weighing a cease-fire connection that would upwind down the astir 10-month warfare successful Gaza and escaped the astir 110 hostages who stay captive there. Hamas' onslaught connected Oct. 7 killed immoderate 1,200 radical and took 250 others hostage. Israel's violative has killed much than 39,000 people, according to section wellness authorities.
Since aboriginal October, Israeli airstrikes successful Lebanon person killed much than 450 people, mostly Hezbollah members, but besides astir 90 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 45 person been killed, astatine slightest 21 of them soldiers.
Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani successful Washington contributed.
Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
