Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Israel Katz are holding emergency consultations with the country's senior defense leadership following a devastating Hezbollah rocket attack on the town of Majdal Shams in Israel's north which resulted in 30 casualties, including at least ten killed.
Nine victims among the several dozen injured are said to be in critical condition, many of them children, some as young as ten. Foreign Minister Katz told a state broadcaster, "There is no doubt that Hezbollah crossed all red lines."
He warned that "We are facing an all-out war" and added, "I have no doubt that we’ll pay a cost" - but also said an even greater toll will surely be exacted on Hezbollah.
The top diplomat further claimed in the comments that Israel will have "full backing" from the US and Europe in waging a bigger anti-Hezbollah campaign in Lebanon. Katz explained to Axios:
The Hezbollah attack today crossed all red lines, and the response will be accordingly. We are approaching the moment of an all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon.
We will pay prices, but at the end of the war Nasrallah and Hezbollah will be destroyed and the state of Lebanon will be severely damaged and we will restore peace and security to the residents of the north.
Rockets reportedly scored direct impact on a soccer field in the Israeli Druze town in the northern Golan region. The IDF military is probing why Israel's anti-air defenses didn't work upon the missile being inbound.
While for months hundreds of Hezbollah missiles and drones have rained down on northern Israel, it is much rarer for a missile to strike in the heart of a town or city.
Widely circulating video which was verified by the Times of Israel shows a large fireball upon impact:
Footage purportedly shows the moment the Hezbollah rocket struck a soccer field in the northern Druze town of Majdal shams, causing numerous casualties. pic.twitter.com/awfFomVEJ2
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 27, 2024
Amid the rising death toll, Hezbollah has later in the day issued a surprising statement insisting it was not behind the attack:
Hezbollah in a statement denies it launched rockets at Majdal Shams, in an attack that killed and wounded civilians, including children.
The terror group says it “has no connection to the incident at all, and categorically denies all false allegations.”
Hezbollah said earlier it launched dozens of rockets at an army base in the Golan Heights, near Majdal Shams.
Israel is charging that not only Hezbollah was definitely behind it, but that this attack has just greatly escalated the conflict. Meanwhile, recent days have seen new reports of fires breaking out in southern Lebanon due to Israeli strikes there.
In Gaza, Al Jazeera has the following latest developments:
- Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 30 people have been killed after an Israeli bombing of Khadija School in Deir el-Balah. Israel claimed it targeted a “Hamas command and control centre”.
- The civil defence in Gaza says at least 170 people have been killed in Israel’s military incursion in Khan Younis since it began more than a week ago.
- The armed wing of Hamas says fierce battles are continuing in Gaza City and that its fighters struck an Israeli troop carrier surrounded by soldiers with an al-Yassin 105 rocket in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood.
- A rare Israeli air raid has taken place in the occupied West Bank, targeting the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. It killed a Palestinian man the army said was wanted.
📢 Galei Tzahal: 11 injured, including five critically (and six seriously), as a result of a Hezbollah drone crash in Majdal Shams.
— Israel News Pulse (@israelnewspulse) July 27, 2024
Very severe incident. A direct hit on a soccer field, likely by a drone (not yet fully confirmed), occurred during a children's soccer game.
_ pic.twitter.com/mJw3sOEehi
Israel's northern border has thus far since Oct.7 not slipped into all-out Israel-Hezbollah war, but this could mark the beginning of a broader conflict. The White House has long urged Israel to keep the fighting 'limited' and contained. The fear is that all of Lebanon could be engulfed if the IDF invades.
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