In addition to the dead, over 30 people are said to have been injured, several of them seriously. Pictures from the scene show a large crowd and ambulances at a soccer field. People were cared for lying on the football pitch.
At least 30 rockets were reportedly fired from Lebanon, according to the Israeli military, which blames Hezbollah for the attack.
War between Israel and Hamas
“The terrorist organization Hezbollah is behind the rocket attack on a soccer field in the city of Majdal Shams,” the military command said in a statement on Saturday evening.
However, Hezbollah denies this and a senior Hezbollah official told Reuters the group was not behind the attack.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military also said on Saturday that they were preparing a response against Hezbollah, the news agency reports. The Minister of Foreign Affairs speaks Axios that “Hezbollah’s attack crossed all red lines and the response will be accordingly.
On the night of Sunday, the answer came when several Hezbollah targets in Lebanon were attacked by the Israeli Air Force, according to the IDF.
Worried about full-scale war
US President Joe Biden and his administration should be very concerned that the rocket attack could lead to a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah, US officials told Axios.
Lebanon’s government says in a statement that it condemns attacks on civilians and calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, writes Reuters.
A large crowd and ambulances at the soccer field on the Golan Heights. Photo: JALAA MAREY
Israeli attacks earlier on Saturday
Earlier on Saturday, there were reports of an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon. Four fighters from the Iran-backed Shia militia Hezbollah were killed in the airstrike, a source told AFP. Hezbollah confirms that four of its members were killed.
Israel and the militia group Hezbollah have been shelling each other almost daily since the Gaza war began as a result of the terror-labeled Hamas attack on Israel last October.
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Here the rockets fly over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Photo: Reuters.