Israel promises to retaliate following Hezbollah rocket assault that led to the death of 12 individuals on a soccer field.

July 28, 2024 TruthUSA

The prime minister’s office said that Israel will respond to a rocket attack that left 12 people dead.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a response from Israel to a rocket attack that left 12 people dead at a soccer field in Golan Heights. His government will exact a “heavy price” from Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office on Saturday evening quoted Mr. Netanyahu as saying that “Israel will not overlook this murderous attack,” adding that “Hezbollah will pay a heavy price.”

Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the Saturday rocket attack in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, located about seven miles from the Israel–Lebanon border. Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib also stated that Hezbollah hasn’t targeted any civilians.

The group said, “categorically denies allegations” made by the Israeli media about the attack in Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. “The Islamic Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with the incident and denies all false allegations in this regard,” it said in the statement.

The Israeli prime minister’s statement vowing a response was made after Mr. Netanyahu spoke with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the leader of the Druze ethno-religious group, and “expressed his deep outrage over the murder of innocent people and children by Hezbollah,” according to his office.

Mr. Netanyahu was returning from a multi-day trip to the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as well as the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.

He also wanted to convey his “heartfelt condolences on behalf of the entire people of Israel to the families of those who were murdered and to the entire Druze community,” his office wrote.

Mourners attend a funeral for ten of the victims of the previous day's rocket attack, in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, on July 28, 2024. (Amir Levy/Getty Images) — Mourners attend a funeral for ten of the victims of the previous day’s rocket attack, in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, on July 28, 2024. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Going a step further, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told the Israeli media outlet YNetNews that the rocket attack will be met with a response, saying Israeli is now “approaching the moment of full-scale war with Hezbollah.

“We will pay a price on both the front and the home front, but by the end of the war, Nasrallah and Hezbollah will be crushed, and Lebanon will suffer severely,” he said Sunday. “We will restore peace and security to the northern communities. I have instructed the Foreign Ministry to prepare for a comprehensive campaign worldwide to gain legitimacy for action in Lebanon.”

On Saturday evening and Sunday morning, Israeli jets hit targets in southern Lebanon, but a stronger response was expected following a meeting of the security cabinet at 6 p.m. on Saturday, officials said.

Israeli, US Officials Say Hezbollah to Blame

Both U.S. and Israeli officials disputed Hezbollah’s denial of the rocket attack.

Israel’s military said the rocket was an Iranian-made missile fired from an area north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon, placing the blame squarely on Hezbollah, which U.S. officials have long said is backed by Iran.

“We know exactly where the rocket was launched from today… this is a Hezbollah rocket, and whoever launches such a rocket into a built-up area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children,” said Israeli Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi in a statement distributed through social media.

The White House also blamed Hezbollah for the attack, adding that Washington has been in talks with Lebanese and Israeli officials since the incident.

“It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control,” the White House said in a statement on Saturday evening.

The rocket attack has stoked public fears that the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group has spread into a wider regional conflict, coming as top U.S. officials have urged the Israeli government to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States does not want a further escalation of the conflict, which has seen daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah along the border.

“We are in conversations with the government of Israel and, again, I emphasize its right to defend its citizens and our determination to make sure that they’re able to do that,” Mr. Blinken told a news conference in Japan.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministry of Britain expressed concern at further escalation while Egypt said the attack could spill “into a comprehensive regional war.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

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