Israel warns of a “tough response” to rocket attacks on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which killed 12 people.
The Israeli military says it has launched air strikes in areas across Lebanon as its political and military leaders discuss a response to a deadly attack on a football field in the occupied Golan Heights.
The military said on Sunday morning that its jets bombed weapons depots and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, in Shabriha and Burj el-Shemali near the southern city of Tire, and in the villages of Kafr Lila, Rab al-Thalathine, Khiam and Tayr Harfa.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Hezbollah “crossed all red lines” with a rocket attack that killed 12 young men in the occupied Golan Heights.
“Saturday’s massacre constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah. This is not an army fighting another army, but a terrorist organization deliberately shooting at civilians,” the ministry said in a statement.
Hezbollah “categorically denied” responsibility for the deadly attack. There have been unconfirmed allegations that a failed Israeli interceptor missile may have caused the incident.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday warned Israel against any “new adventure regarding Lebanon” using the Majdal Shams incident as an “excuse.”
“After 10 months of mass murders in the Gaza Strip and mass murders of Palestinian children and women, the Israeli apartheid regime is attempting to distract public opinion and global attention from its wide-ranging crimes in Palestine, using a scenario manufactured,” said spokesman Nasser Kanaani. said in a statement, adding that Israel will be responsible for any moves that further destabilize the region.
‘A turning point’
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said the latest Israeli attacks were a message to Hezbollah, but not the response it promised.
“What we witnessed overnight was truly normal activity, something we have seen over the past 10 months, since Hezbollah opened a front in southern Lebanon to help the people of Gaza,” she said.
According to Khodr, the Israeli response and the fact of hitting military or civilian targets could mark a “turning point” that will determine the trajectory of the border conflict that began on October 8.
The Israeli security cabinet is due to meet later on Sunday to decide on a response to the rocket attack on a football field in the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, which killed at least 12 people.
In a video message from the site of the attack on Sunday morning, Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi reiterated the claim that an Iranian-made Falaq rocket – which has been used by Hezbollah since border fighting began last October – was carrying 53 kg (116 pounds). ) warhead hit the football field.
“This is a Hezbollah rocket. And whoever fires such a rocket at an urban area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children,” he said.
Halevi added that the Israeli military is “increasing our readiness for the next phase of combat in the north” as it continues to attack the Gaza Strip with deadly effect.
He and other commanders met with Druze leaders and community members in the area.
The United Nations, the United States and the European Union condemned the attack. The UN and EU have urged all parties to exercise “restraint” to avoid an all-out war, with the 27-member bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, calling for an “independent international investigation”.
More than 350 civilians have been killed as a result of repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza. More than 20 Israelis were killed in attacks originating in Lebanon.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
