Israel has vowed that Hezbollah will “pay the price” after blaming the Lebanese militant group for a rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children, touching off fears once again that an all-out war would envelop the region.
Hezbollah firmly denies it was behind the strike.
The attack is the deadliest to hit Israel or Israeli-controlled territory since the October 7 attacks.
Israeli warplanes conducted airstrikes against Hezbollah targets “deep inside Lebanese territory” and along the border overnight Sunday, according to a statement from the military on Sunday morning.
It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties from those strikes.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pledged a heavy response when he visited the town of Majdal Shams near the Syrian and Lebanese borders, where the rocket attack left children and teenagers dead.
He says Hezbollah is responsible for this, and they will pay the price.
In an earlier statement from his office, Gallant says they will hit the enemy hard.
The Saturday attacks on the region involved “approximately 30 projectiles” crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory, in a barrage Israel’s military quickly blamed on the Iran-backed militant group.
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the strike killed 12 children and left 44 people injured,
According to a list from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and residents who spoke to CNN, the children killed in the strike were playing on a soccer field.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday backed Israel’s assessment, saying “every indication” suggested the strike was a rocket fired by Hezbollah.
Source: CNN
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