- author, Paul Adams
- role, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent
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The Israeli Air Force said it had struck Hezbollah positions in Lebanon after a rocket attack killed 12 children and young people playing soccer in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israel has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams from a Lebanese militant group, but Hezbollah has strongly denied any involvement.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had carried out airstrikes on seven Hezbollah positions “deep inside Lebanese territory” early on Sunday. It was unclear whether there were any casualties.
Rising tensions could spark all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, whose armies have been exchanging regular gunfire since the Israel-Gaza war erupted in October.
The bloodbath at the town’s soccer field on Saturday was the deadliest along Israel’s northern border since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
Fighting with Hezbollah, previously sporadic, intensified the day after the Hamas attack when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli positions in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against Hezbollah shortly after Saturday’s attack, saying the group would “pay a heavy price.”
Hours later, the Israeli Air Force said it had carried out a nighttime strike on “terrorist targets” including “weapons depots and terrorist infrastructure.”
a United Nations Statement He said “maximum restraint” by all parties was crucial because there was a risk that the conflict could escalate “and plunge the entire region into incredible catastrophe.”
Hezbollah spokesman Mohammad Afif has denied responsibility for the attack and the BBC is attempting to verify reports that the militant group told the UN that the blast was caused by an Israeli interceptor rocket.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry released the names and ages of 10 of the victims, saying they were children between the ages of 10 and 16. The name of the 11th was released but not his age. Details of the 12th victim have not been confirmed.
Verified video showed crowds gathering at the soccer field and a stretcher being rushed to a waiting ambulance.
Majdal Shams is one of four villages in the Golan Heights that are home to around 25,000 members of the Arabic-speaking Druze religious and ethnic group.
Before reports of the attack’s impact, Hezbollah had claimed responsibility for four other attacks.
One was at a nearby military installation on the slopes of Mount Hermon, on the Golan Heights border with Lebanon, about three kilometers (two miles) from the soccer field.