Sadiq Chika Oluwatosin
"A rocket attack on a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has resulted in the deaths of eleven teenagers and young adults, with 19 others injured, as reported by Israeli emergency services and military sources. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that the rocket hit the Majdal Shams area."
This incident marks the deadliest attack in the region since cross-border hostilities between Israel's military and Hezbollah escalated following the Israel-Gaza war's outbreak in October. Although the IDF has accused Hezbollah of the attack, Hezbollah spokesman Mohamad Afif denied any involvement, stating, “All accusations [of the group’s involvement] are false.”
Prior to the reports of the strike's impact, Hezbollah had claimed responsibility for four attacks, including one targeting the military headquarters of the Hermon Brigade on the slopes of Mt. Hermon. The base is approximately two miles from the football pitch where the explosion occurred. These strikes followed an Israeli attack in Lebanon that killed four militants.
In response to the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was visiting the US, has cut short his trip to return home. He assured a leader of the Druze community in Israel that "Hezbollah will pay a heavy price, the kind it has thus far not paid," according to a statement from his office. Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Channel 12 news, “We are facing an all-out war.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the incident as a "terrible and shocking disaster" and affirmed that "the state of Israel will firmly defend its citizens and its sovereignty." Lebanon's government also issued a rare statement, condemning the violence and calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The statement highlighted that "targeting civilians is a flagrant violation of international law and goes against the principles of humanity."
Verified video footage shows crowds of people on the football pitch and stretchers being rushed to waiting ambulances.
Majdal Shams is one of four villages in the Golan Heights, home to about 25,000 Druze people. When Israel annexed the Golan Heights from Syria in 1981, the Druze were offered Israeli citizenship, but only a minority accepted. Most have retained their allegiance to Syria, though they can study and work in Israel. Only those with citizenship can vote and are required to serve in the army.
The vast majority of the international community does not recognize Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights. The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethnic group, with most living in Lebanon, Syria, and northern Israel. In Israel, they have full citizenship rights and comprise about 1.5% of the population. The Israeli Druze community, like other citizens, is subject to compulsory military service and is the largest non-Jewish group serving in the IDF.
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