Israel said at least 12 children and young people were killed and several others wounded in a rocket attack on a football field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Saturday, hours after an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon killed three members of the militant group Hezbollah.
The attack was the deadliest against Israeli civilians since fighting between the two countries erupted on October 7. Larger scale fires regional.
Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif told The Associated Press that the group “categorically denies the attack on Majdal Shams,” in an unusual denial by Hezbollah.
But a U.S. official told CBS News on Saturday night that there was “no doubt this was Hezbollah.”
Israeli military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari He also claimed to journalists that “Hezbollah is lying.”
“The rocket fired by Hezbollah was an Iranian Falak-1 rocket, carrying a 50-kilogram warhead, a model exclusively owned by Hezbollah, which caused the deaths of 12 boys and girls this evening,” Haghari said later from the scene of the attack.
Hagari had earlier said about 20 other people were injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price for this attack, the highest price it has ever paid before.”
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Disconnect Nearly a week-long trip to the US In short, Prime Minister Netanyahu left Washington, D.C., for Israel on Saturday night, an Israeli official told CBS News.
Then early Sunday, the IDF reported that the Israeli Air Force had retaliated overnight with airstrikes on a series of Hezbollah targets, including weapons depots and terrorist infrastructure deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon. The IDF released aerial footage of the strikes.
Saturday marked the first day of “near all-out war” between Israel and Hezbollah after a rocket attack killed children in the northern Israeli town of Majdal Shams, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News. The official said the attack was the “nightmare scenario” Biden administration officials had feared, and that any mass casualties would force Israel to respond more harshly than would be expected.
White House officials tried to ease tensions and limit the fallout during the call.
“We condemn this horrific attack that allegedly killed teenagers and children playing soccer in the northern Israeli village of Majdal Shams on Saturday evening,” a National Security Council spokesman said. “…As the world saw today, Israel continues to face serious security threats, and the United States will continue to support efforts to end these horrific attacks along the Blue Line. This must be a top priority. Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad and unwavering against all Iranian-backed terrorist organizations, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.”
In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli army said that according to information it had, “the rocket fire at Majdal Shams was carried out by the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”
The Israeli military said it had seen a single bullet fired into the area from Lebanon, and Channel 12 aired footage of a large explosion in one of the town’s valleys.
The attack on the soccer field just before sunset followed cross-border violence on Saturday in which Hezbollah said three of its fighters were killed but did not say where. The Israeli military added that its air force targeted a Hezbollah arms depot in the border village of Kfar Kila where its fighters were inside at the time.
“There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed a red line here and its response will reflect that,” Israeli Foreign Minister Katz told Israel’s Channel 12. “We are approaching a moment where we face an all-out war.”
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“These are kids who were on a soccer field,” local council speaker Beni Ben Mubchaar told Israel’s Channel 12. “A red line was crossed today,” he said, calling on Israeli leaders to target Hezbollah’s top commanders.
Hezbollah said its fighters carried out as many as 10 attacks on Israeli military positions using rockets and explosive drones. In the latest attack, they hit the Haramoun Brigade headquarters in Ma’ale Golani with Katyusha rockets. In a separate statement, Hezbollah said it had struck the same military position with short-range Falak rockets. The group said the attacks were in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on villages in southern Lebanon.
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Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it in 1981.
Israel and Hezbollah are making a deal After the war, fires broke out almost every day. The fighting in Gaza began on October 7 when a Hamas surprise attack left about 1,200 people dead and 250 taken hostage. Israel launched its offensive and has so far More than 39,000 people diedThe disaster has caused a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip, forcing more than 80 percent of the area’s residents to flee, according to local health officials.
CBS News has learned that the latest round of direct negotiations on the hostage situation is scheduled to take place on Sunday in Rome, Italy, with CIA Director William Burns visiting the Italian capital to meet with Mossad Director David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel to try to finalize a deal.
The meeting was held by U.S. officials Increased pressure During a meeting at the White House this week, he urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire agreement.
Gunfights along the Lebanon-Israel border have escalated over the past few weeks with Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks further from the border.
Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed more than 450 people, mostly Hezbollah members, but also about 90 civilians and non-combatants, since early October. On the Israeli side, 21 soldiers and 13 civilians had been killed by Saturday.
—Margaret Brennan and Olivia Gazzis contributed to this report.
