Series of Israeli raids on Lebanon in response to the attack attributed to Hezbollah against the village of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, in which 12 children and young people (between 10 and 16 years old) were killed.
According to military sources, Israel’s overnight strikes hit weapons depots and other infrastructure in Shabriha and Burj el-Shemali, near Tyre, in the Beqaa Valley, and in the southern localities of Kila, Rab al-Thalathine, Khiam and Tayr Harfa.
Israel: “Hezbollah has crossed all red lines”
With yesterday’s attack on Majdal Shams Hezbollah “crossed all red lines”the Israeli Foreign Ministry reiterated in a statement, after Minister Israel Katz had already expressed himself in the same terms yesterday. “Yesterday’s massacre represents the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah. This is not an army fighting another army, but a terrorist organization that deliberately shoots civilians,” the ministry accused in a statement.
“Last chance for diplomacy” if “global war” is to be avoided Hezbollah must implement UN resolution 1701 that requires the group to retreat beyond the Litani River, 30 kilometers from the border between Israel and Lebanon, said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein, denouncing that “the rocket that killed our boys was an Iranian rocket and Hezbollah is the only terrorist organization that has it in its arsenals”.
“Israel will exercise its right and duty to act in self-defense and respond to the massacre… The world must now hold Iran and its proxies: Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis accountable,” he said. “The only way the world can avoid a full-scale war, which would also be devastating for Lebanon, is to force Hezbollah to implement Security Council Resolution 1701.” “This is the last minute to do it diplomatically,” the spokesman warned.
Hezbollah will not get away with this, not even with its ridiculous denials. They were shot, they will suffer the consequences and pay a high price for their actions,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during the operational assessment meeting at the Northern Command with its commander, Major General Ori Gordin, and staff officers.
Search for 11-year-old missing after attack
Meanwhile, an 11-year-old remains missing after yesterday’s attack, Ynet reports, which says searches are underway to locate Guevara Ibrahim, while no hospital has heard from him. It is feared that the boy was on the soccer field hit by the rocket.
Iran’s warning
Iran warns Israel against engaging in “new adventurism” in Lebanon, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement, adding that Israel will be responsible for “the consequences and unforeseen reactions to such stupid behavior.”
The rocket launched by Hezbollah
The rocket fired by Hezbollah hit a soccer field in Majdal Shams. According to IDF sources, it was an Iranian-made Falaq-1. The Israeli military is increasing its preparations for “the next phase of fighting in the north,” IDF Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi reiterated in the aftermath of the attack on Majdal Shams. “We know exactly where the rocket was fired from. We examined the remains of the rocket here, on the wall of the soccer field, and we know that it is a Falaq rocket with a 53-kilogram warhead,” said Halevi, who had already been to the site last night. “It is a Hezbollah rocket. And anyone who fires a rocket like that in an urban area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children.”
“We are significantly increasing our preparation for the next phase of fighting in the north, as we are simultaneously fighting in Gaza. We know how to attack even very far from the State of Israel. There will be other challenges, we will increase our preparation,” the general reiterated.
Blinken: For rocket ‘all signs point to Hezbollah’
“All indications are that the rocket did indeed come from Hezbollah,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during his visit to Japan, reiterating: “We support Israel’s right to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks.”
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister: “Hezbollah did not intentionally attack Majdal Shams”
The Lebanese government does not believe that yesterday’s attack by Hezbollah on Majdal Shams was intentional: Indeed, it does not rule out that the group, which has denied any connection with the incident, may not have been involved. Speaking to the BBC, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bu Habib said that the deaths of the twelve children could have been caused by an Israeli mistake, by Hezbollah or by “another organization”.
The minister ruled out “the hypothesis that Hezbollah conducted the attack against the town of Majdal Shams, in the occupied Golan Heights, because since the beginning of the conflict in the south, Hezbollah has not attacked civilian sites, but only military positions.”
So the victims could be the consequence of an attack “by another organization, an Israeli mistake or a Hezbollah mistake”, which is why Habib called for an international investigation or the convening of the Unifil Tripartite Committee to clarify what happened. The head of Beirut’s diplomacy then warned that “an Israeli attack on Lebanon will lead to a deterioration of the situation in the region and the outbreak of a regional war”.
Hezbollah’s Attack and the Risk of a Global War
Hezbollah’s attack on Israel threatens to spark a global war. After the massacre of children and young people, the summit scheduled today in Rome to reach an agreement for a truce between Israel and Hamas risks changing direction.
The Biden administration is in fact concerned that the conflict could now escalate with the outbreak of an all-out war between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group. “What happened could explode what we have feared and tried to avoid for 10 months,” a US source told Axios.
Security Cabinet with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv Israel
How the situation turns out will largely depend on what Benjamin Netanyahu decides when, upon his return from the United States, he will call a meeting of the security cabinet to discuss the attack.
The Rome Summit and Israel’s New Demands
In this context, the summit between CIA Director Bill Burns, Mossad Chief Dedi Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdel Rahman al-Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamal on the ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages, which began shortly before 11, is being held today in Rome.
Yesterday, the United States received the latest Israeli proposal for an agreement. And in Rome, Walla writes, the updated Israeli proposal with new demands from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be discussed. In particular, the Israeli prime minister has asked for a control mechanism to be established to prevent the transfer of weapons from the southern Gaza Strip to the northern Palestinian enclave. Senior officials in the negotiating group and security bodies cited by Walla believe that Hamas will not accept this condition and that this will lead to a crisis in the talks.
Hamas has said it will not back down from the demands contained in the latest agreement proposal presented to the mediators, in particular that there must be a complete withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from the Gaza Strip in order to free all the hostages, the pro-Hezbollah daily Al-Mayadeen reported, citing its source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. According to the source cited by the pro-Hezbollah daily, Hamas has demanded that the withdrawal of the Israeli military from the Strip include the Netzarim and Philadelphia corridors. Furthermore, Hamas would not accept any new agreement for the release of the hostages that does not include a clear text on reaching a permanent ceasefire, the source added. Al-Mayadeen also writes that the source said that Hamas is not averse to temporarily taking over the government administration of the Strip with a national consensus, should an agreement on the governance of Gaza and the West Bank not be reached.