‘Hezbollah will pay a heavy price’, Netanyahu says
Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for a rocket attack that killed 11 people, including children, at a football pitch in a Druze village on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“Hezbollah will pay a heavy price, the kind it has thus far not paid,” Netanyahu told the leader of the Druze community in Israel in a phone call, according to a statement from his office.
Hezbollah has denied involvement in the attack.
Death toll in Majdal Shams rises to 11
The death toll from a rocket that hit a football pitch in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights has killed 11 teenagers and young adults, the Israeli army has said.
The army blamed Hezbollah for the deadly rocket that killed the youngsters aged between 10 and 20 years. The Lebanese group has denied responsibility. “The Islamic Resistance has no connection to this incident,” it said, referring to its military wing.
Many residents of the town retain Syrian nationality decades after the territory’s occupation in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on X that 11 youngsters were killed in the attack, while the emergency service Magen David Adom said 19 others were wounded.
Israeli medics transport casualties from a site where a reported attack fell in Majdal Shams village in the Israeli-annexed Golan area on July 27
Israel’s Smotrich says ‘Lebanon as a whole’ should pay for Hezbollah attack
Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said Lebanon “as a whole” should pay for the attack on Majdal Shams.
“For the death of small children, Nasrallah should pay with his head,” he said on X, referring to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“Lebanon as a whole has to pay the price. My position regarding the necessary steps is known. The prime minister must return immediately. It’s time for action!,” he added.
US condemns attack on Majdal Shams, says support for Israel ‘iron-clad’
The White House has said the missile attack on the Druze village of Majdal Shams, which killed 11 people including children, was “horrific”.
“Our support for Israel’s security is iron-clad and unwavering against all Iranian backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in a statement.
No condemnation for https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/27/middleeast/israel-gaza-deir-al-balah-school-intl/index.html ?
EU calls for independent investigation into Majdal Shams strike
The European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called for a “independent international investigation into this unacceptable incident” after a rocket struck a football pitch in Majdal Shams, in the occupied Golan Heights.
“I strongly condemn this bloodbath,” Borrell said on X, urging all parties to exert restraint.
Shocking images from the soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams.
I strongly condemn this bloodbath.
We need an independent international investigation into this unacceptable incident.
We urge all parties to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) July 27, 2024
