12 killed in Hezbollah rocket attack at football ground in Golan Heights, says Israel
PTC News Desk: Twelve people, including children, were killed by a rocket attack on a football field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, according to Israeli authorities. They blamed Hezbollah and threatened to exact a hefty price on the Lebanese organisation, which is supported by Iran.
The worst strike to have occurred in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since the beginning of the Gaza conflict was denied by Hezbollah. Fears of a full-scale battle between the heavily armed enemies have increased since the incident, which drastically escalated hostilities in the combat fought alongside the Gaza war.
The target of the rocket was a football field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which Israel annexed in a move not long after capturing the area from Syria in the 1967 Middle East conflict.
According to a statement from his office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the head of the Druze community in Israel over the phone that "Hezbollah will pay a heavy price, the kind it has thus far not paid." Hezbollah released the following statement in writing: "The Islamic Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with the incident, and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard."
Hezbollah had previously declared that it will launch multiple rocket strikes at Israeli military installations. The football field was full of kids and teenagers when the rocket struck, and the Israeli ambulance service reported that 13 more people were hurt.
"When they heard sirens while playing soccer, they fled for cover. They could need fifteen seconds or so to get to the shelter. However, the missile struck the area between the ground and the shelter, making it impossible for them to approach it, according to witness Mourhaf Abu Saleh.
Social media footage captured the instant the rocket struck. There's the sound of an air raid alarm, a loud explosion, and billowing smoke images. By using satellite photography of the area, Reuters was able to independently confirm the locations of the structures and the design of the roads.
First responders found a scene ravaged, according to Magen David Adom ambulance service medic Idan Avshalom. "There were casualties on the grass and the scene was gruesome," he stated.
Netanyahu declared he would move his trip forward and call a meeting of his security cabinet when he returned to Israel late on Saturday, ahead of schedule from the United States.
The United States of America (US) denounced the incident as a horrifying act and declared that US support for Israel's security was "iron-clad and unwavering against all Iran-backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah." The US has been spearheading diplomatic attempts to defuse the situation across the Lebanese-Israeli border.
According to a statement from the White House National Security Council spokesperson, the US "will continue to support efforts to end these terrible attacks along the Blue Line, which must be a top priority". The boundary separating Israel and Lebanon is known as the "Blue Line."
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- With inputs from agencies
