This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – The carnage of Hezbollah's incessant attacks on northern Israel since Oct. 8 hit a new peak Saturday, after it struck a soccer field in Majdal Shams – a largely Arab Druze town. The attack killed 11 – mostly children and teenagers – and wounded at least 30 others. Residents in the northern Golan and Upper Galilee have been instructed to stay close to protected areas.
Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency medical service, said more than 30 people – most between the ages of 10 and 20 – were taken to emergency rooms, some via IDF helicopters, as the organization's director Eli Bin said the scene was reminiscent "of a battlefield." Five are in serious condition, with fears the total number of dead may rise beyond the 11 already confirmed. Eleven youngsters were moderately wounded and a further 10 were lightly hurt, some suffering from anxiety attacks. Evacuation of the wounded was complicated, as Hezbollah continued its rocket fire, even after the strike on the soccer field.
Senior MDA paramedic Idan Avshalom described the scene: "We arrived at the football field and saw destruction and objects burning. Victims were lying on the grass, and the sights were difficult to witness. We immediately started triaging the injured. Some were taken to local clinics, and our teams were also directed there. During the incident, there were further alerts, and the medical treatment of the injured is still ongoing," according to Israel Hayom.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who is still in the United States following his address to Congress on Wednesday and further meetings with both outgoing President Joseph Biden and likely Democratic Party nominee Vice President Kamala Harris – has been kept in close contact with the rescue efforts and will lead the decision-making process about what kind of response will follow. It is also thought his return has been pushed forward several hours because of the security situation.
Senior military leaders – including IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Northern Command's Commanding Officer, the Operations Directorate Head, the Israel Air Force Head, and other members of the General Staff Forum – are currently conducting a situational assessment of the incident, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Public and political figures in Israel decried this latest brutal attack, and have called for a harsh response – which Hezbollah originally took credit for, although subsequent reports suggest they rescinded it. However, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the Israeli military's intelligence was clear about the source of the rocket-fire. Channel 12 cited a senior Israeli official in the prime minister's delegation to Washington as saying: "The events in the north will bring about a dramatic turn in fighting in the area."
Hezbollah's denial is interesting, because the victims of its indiscriminate attack were members of Israel's Druze community – a largely peaceful and extremely loyal group. There are Druze throughout the Levant – Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, as well as Israel. Hezbollah's denial might be calculated to try and quell likely Druze fury in Lebanon at the slaughter of their kinfolk in northern Israel.
Israel's Minister for Culture and Sport Miki Zohar MK posted messages on X in Hebrew, English and Arabic. His message was a clear one about Hezbollah having crossed a red line – and the need for a swift and harsh response.
Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's National Security Minister wrote on X about the close relationship between the State of Israel and the Druze. "We do not just have a covenant of blood, we also have a covenant of life … the red line was crossed a long time ago. No more."
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah's "head" in retaliation for the strike. "For the deaths of small children, Nasrallah should pay with his head," Smotrich tweeted.
"Lebanon as a whole has to pay the price," he continues, adding his "position regarding the necessary steps is known. The prime minister must return immediately. It's time for action!"
Former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman MK – leader of the Yisrael Beytenu faction – shared a simple message on X. "The person responsible for the murder of so many children and young people in Majdal Shams is Nasrallah; and the time has come for him to pay the price."
The Lebanese government – which seems largely impotent to act freely without massive Hezbollah interference – released a strongly worded statement condemning "all acts of violence and aggression against civilians." It added, "Targeting civilians is a flagrant violation of international law and goes against the principles of humanity." Two things are notable about this. The first is an acknowledgment that such a statement – if the victims had been Jewish rather than Druze – would unlikely have been forthcoming. And secondly, it radiates a sense of panic in Lebanon about what the IDF's response to this outrage will be.
There is a growing sense in Israel that the situation in the north – with daily rocket strikes and drone incursions – as well as the internal displacement of scores of thousands of residents from the north simply cannot be allowed to continue. The pressure on Netanyahu to act also grows, and the risks of further conflagration in a region where gasoline keeps being added to the flames are clearly high.
