Soccer pitch in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in Golan Heights, July 27, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Rocket Attack in Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights Results in Eleven Deaths

Incident Overview

A rocket attack on a football ground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday resulted in the deaths of eleven individuals, including children. Israeli authorities have attributed the attack to Hezbollah and have vowed to retaliate against the Iran-backed Lebanese group.

Hezbollah’s Denial and Response

Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the strike, which is the deadliest attack in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since the commencement of the conflict in Gaza. In a written statement, Hezbollah asserted: “The Islamic Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with the incident and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard.” The group had previously announced several rocket attacks targeting Israeli military positions in other locations from Lebanon.

Statements from Israeli Officials

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, speaking to Axios, declared that the Hezbollah attack “crossed all red lines” and indicated an imminent escalation: “We are approaching the moment of an all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in the United States at the time, announced he would return to Israel promptly and convene his security cabinet. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for severe retaliation, including targeting Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Casualties and Witness Accounts

The Israeli ambulance service reported that thirteen more individuals were wounded by a rocket fired from Lebanon that struck a football pitch in the Druze village of Majdal Shams. Idan Avshalom, a medic with the Magen David Adom ambulance service, described the scene: “We witnessed great destruction when we arrived at the soccer field, as well as items that were on fire. There were casualties on the grass and the scene was gruesome.” A witness, who requested anonymity, told Reuters: “It landed in the soccer pitch, all of them are children… many bodies and remains are in the field we don’t know who they are.”

International and Regional Reactions

Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), stated that its force commander was in contact with authorities in both Lebanon and Israel “to understand the details of the Majdal Shams incident and to maintain calm.”

Background and Ongoing Conflict

Hezbollah, the most powerful among Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, has engaged in ongoing exchanges of fire with Israel in the Lebanese-Israeli border regions since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict. Other Iran-backed groups, including those from Iraq and Yemen’s Houthis, as well as Hamas and the Lebanese Sunni group Jama’a Islamiya, have also launched attacks against Israel since October.

Historical Context of the Golan Heights

The Golan Heights, originally part of Syria, was captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981. This annexation has not been recognized by most countries, and Syria continues to demand the return of the territory. The region’s population exceeds 40,000, more than half of whom are Druze residents, an Arab minority practicing an offshoot of Islam.

Recent Escalations

The attack on the football pitch followed an Israeli strike in Lebanon, which killed four militants on the same day. Two security sources in Lebanon confirmed that the deceased fighters in the Israeli strike on Kfarkila in southern Lebanon were members of different armed groups, with at least one affiliated with Hezbollah. The Israeli military reported that its aircraft targeted a Hezbollah military structure after identifying a militant cell entering the building. Subsequently, at least thirty rockets were fired from Lebanon across the border, and Hezbollah claimed responsibility for at least four attacks, including those using Katyusha rockets, in retaliation for the Kfarkila strike.