JERUSALEM – On Saturday, Hezbollah, a terrorist group backed by Iran, launched a barrage of rockets at Israel, with at least one striking a soccer field in the northern Israeli town of Majdal Shams, close to the Syrian border, where children were playing. Early reports indicate that at least 10 individuals have died, many of whom are believed to be children.
The soccer field in this predominantly Druze town transformed into a horrific scene of violence, marking the deadliest incident in the north since Hezbollah allied with Hamas in the ongoing conflict on October 7. According to the Magen David Adom ambulance service, the victims’ ages range from 10 to 20 years old.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unequivocally attributed the attack to Hezbollah, stating, “Based on our assessment and intelligence, the rocket fire targeting Majdal Shams was executed by the Hezbollah terrorist group. This organization is responsible for the strike on a soccer field in Majdal Shams, resulting in numerous civilian casualties, including children, earlier this evening.”
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Israeli security forces and medics transport casualties along with local residents, at the site where a reported strike from Lebanon fell in Majdal Shams village in Israel on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)
(ALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently in the U.S., is being kept informed and is participating in situational assessments, according to a political source. The IDF has advised residents in Northern Israel to stay in shelters.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with the IDF’s Chief of General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, is conducting an assessment of the situation following the attack.
The IDF reported that approximately 30 projectiles were detected entering Israel from Lebanon on Saturday. Hezbollah, designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., effectively governs Lebanon.
Israeli security forces and medics transport casualties from a site where a reported strike from Lebanon fell in Majdal Shams village in Israel on July 27, 2024.
(JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli Channel 12 reported that Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated on a TV news show, “We are nearing a moment of total conflict in the north against Hezbollah; our response will be disproportionate,” as translated by Israeli journalists Ben Caspit and Dafna Liel.
Earlier this month, former national security adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Yaakov Amidror, spoke to Fox News Digital regarding the potential for an imminent full-scale conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
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Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah delivers a televised address during a gathering for the annual Quds (Jerusalem) Day commemorations in Beirut’s southern suburb on April 5, 2024.
(Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images)
Jason Brodsky, a specialist in Iran and its proxy groups, shared with Fox News Digital that “Hezbollah’s Secretary-General [Hassan Nasrallah] has been cautioning in July about targeting ‘new locations’ in Israel. The strike in Majdal Shams likely aligns with this intention—especially since it is outside of major urban centers like Tel Aviv, which would almost certainly invoke a strong response, and it is situated in a Druze community. Nasrallah may have estimated that Hezbollah could avoid repercussions.”
People stand next to damaged bicycles at the site where a reported strike from Lebanon occurred in Majdal Shams village in Israel on July 27, 2024.
(Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)
Brodsky, policy director at United Against A Nuclear Iran, reiterated, “However, this decision may prove to be a strategic error on Hezbollah’s part, as an attack like this could alter the conflict’s dynamics in the north, given the significant civilian casualties, including children. What led to this point? Diminished deterrence. Hezbollah has operated under the assumption that the U.S. would limit Israeli military actions in Lebanon. When U.S. policy is predicated on passivity, it fosters the very escalation they seek to circumvent.”
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Israel has engaged in two conflicts (1982 and 2006) against Hezbollah. The IDF estimates that around 500 terrorists have been neutralized in Lebanon since the commencement of the war against Hamas, with approximately 5,000 projectiles launched at Israel.
