'Hezbollah perpetrated the Majdal Shams attack,' says White House: Day 296 of the Gaza War

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Following a four-hour Israeli Security Cabinet meeting held on Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement saying that the cabinet had mandated him and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to decide on the timing and nature of the response to the Majdel Shams strike that killed 12 children.

In an interview with Ynet News, Israeli minister and former war-cabinet member Benny Gantz said, "Israel needs to respond, but what it needs more is a full strategic action plan." He attacked Netanyahu's policy, noting that he "cannot continue to play for time. Time only brings with it failures."

According to Gantz, "What is happening cannot continue. The [Israeli army] will attack Hezbollah strongly and with continuous force and also targets of the Lebanese state if necessary. We cannot let this event continue."

The US Embassy in Lebanon has called on US citizens “traveling to or from Lebanon to monitor their flight status closely, to be aware that itineraries could change with little or no warning, and to make alternate plans.”, following flight schedule changes announced by Lebanon's Middle East Airlines earlier today. “Other airlines are reportedly considering temporary changes to their flight plans,” the embassy says, in a message posted on X by the US State Department. “The security environment in Lebanon remains complex and can change quickly,” the statement concludes.

The Israeli cabinet is currently meeting at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv to discuss the Majdal Shams strike, Haaretz reports.

US special envoy Amos Hochstein told Israel's Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, that the US is concerned about a possible Israeli strike on Beirut in response to the attack yesterday on Majdal Shams - Axios reports, citing a Israeli official.

Hochstein reportedly warned that such an could make the situation "spiral out of control", Axios reporter Barak Ravid wrote on X. 

The spokesperson for the US National Security Council has condemned yesterday's strike on a football pitch in Majdal Shams - and supported Israel's claim that it was "Hezbollah rocket...launched from an area under their control."

"The United States is also working on a diplomatic solution along the Blue Line that will end all attacks once and for all and allow citizens on both sides of the border to return home safely", Adrienne Watson, commented in a statement. 

President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, the French presidency said in a statement, as Paris seeks to prevent a broader escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

The presidency said Macron had reminded Netanyahu that France was fully committed to doing "everything to avoid a new escalation in the region by passing messages to all parties involved in the conflict".

The White House says Hezbollah is responsible for the attack on the Druze village of Majdal Shams yesterday, adding that it has been "in constant discussion" with its Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since the attack, which killed 12 children and teenagers,in the Israeli-annexed Syrian Golan.

In addition, the U.S. reiterated its support for Israel's security, adding that it is "working towards a diplomatic solution that would end the attacks on the Israeli-Lebanese border."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the killing of 12 civilians, mainly children and teenagers, in Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan yesterday.

Calling on all parties to "exercise maximum restraint," Guterres sent his "deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives" while adding that "civilians, and children in particular, should not continue to bear the burden of the horrific violence plaguing the region," according to a statement by the office of his spokesperson.

In south Lebanon, here's what has been happening since our last update:

* Israeli aircraft targeted a house in Khiam, in the Marjayoun district.

* The locality of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district) was also targeted by an Israeli drone strike.

* Two Israeli missiles were fired at Tayr Harfa in the Sour district.

Several sources claim that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the postponement of the transfer of around 150 sick and injured Gazan children to the United Arab Emirates, following the killing of children by a strike in Majdal Shams yesterday, Haaretz and the Times of Israel report.

Caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati says that "the solution lies in a comprehensive cease-fire and the full implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701," his office said in a statement. "This is essential to break the cycle of pointless violence and avoid escalation, which could have disastrous consequences," he added.

Mikati says he "condemns all forms of violence against civilians."

The caretaker prime minister also noted that Lebanon's position "is understood and supported by all friends of this country, thanks to continuous communication at various international, European and Arab levels to protect Lebanon."

"Hezbollah is ready to withdraw behind the Litani if Israel stops its violations," Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib claimed in an interview with the al-Hadath channel. Bou Habib added that the United States had asked him to "contain" Hezbollah. "We have informed Hezbollah of the U.S. request," he said. 

"Hezbollah will stand by the state and we will defend Lebanon," he added. "The outbreak of a wider war is not in the interests of Israel, nor of Lebanon."

Here's the latest update from southern Lebanon:

* An Israeli drone struck the village of Shihine (Sour district), residents of the village told L’Orient Today. A house in the same village was struck earlier, with at least three people injured in the attack. Al-Risala Scouts, the medical association affiliated with the Amal Movement, said in a statement that they were participating in taking the injured from the attacks on Shihine to the hospitals nearby.

* The Israeli army struck the village of Yaroun (Bint Jbeil district), residents of the village told L’Orient Today.

The Gaza Strip's Civil Defense claimed that an Israeli strike hit tents in a camp for displaced people in the south of the Palestinian territory today, killing at least five people.

A witness told AFP that a newborn baby was among the dead in al-Mawasi, near the town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge from the war that has now been ongoing for more than nine months.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Israel had the right to defend itself against Hezbollah, when asked about the rocket attack on a soccer field on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which killed 12 children and teenagers.

"Israel has every right to defend itself against Hezbollah as it does against Hamas," Schumer said in an interview with CBS News.

Middle East Airlines (MEA) had announced in a press release that it has delayed the arrival into Beirut of several flights scheduled for Sunday night until Monday morning.

The company did not give its reasons for taking this measure, but an informed source believes that recent developments in south Lebanon and Israeli threats following yesterday's strike on Majdal Shams, which killed 12 people, are connected to the decision.

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🔴 Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has called for "an international investigation or a meeting of the tripartite committee through UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) to find out the truth" about the Majdal Shams attack, the Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) reports.

The tripartite committee includes military officials from Lebanon and Israel, technically in a state of war, and representatives of UNIFIL deployed in southern Lebanon.

Bou Habib ruled out the possibility that Hezbollah had deliberately targeted civilians, insisting that the party has only targeted "military" positions since the start of the war in Gaza in October. He suggested that the attack could "have been carried out by other organizations" or that it could have been "an Israeli mistake or a Hezbollah mistake."

Here is what has been happening in south Lebanon over the past hour:

* At least three people were injured in an Israeli airstrike on a home in the village of Shihine (Sour), local residents told our correspondent.

* Hezbollah announced that it had attacked a group of Israeli soldiers in the Shtoula area, opposite the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil).

Egypt stressed the importance of supporting Lebanon and "sparing it the scourge of war," the country's Foreign Ministry told Reuters.

Cairo, mediator in the Gaza war cease-fire negotiations, also warned of the dangers of opening a new war front with Lebanon.

The UK has condemned the rocket attack on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, which killed 12 people yesterday, and says it is "deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation and destabilization."

In a statement on X, Foreign Secretary David Lammy also said Lebanon's Hezbollah movement "must cease their attacks" on Israel.

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for an attack on "a deployment of Israeli soldiers" at Israel's Manara site, located opposite the Lebanese town of Houla (Marjayoun). The party added that it had hit its target directly.

Hezbollah has today issued no further comment on the yesterday's deadly strike on Majdal Shams, in the Israeli'-annexed Golan, which killed 12 people. Israel says Hezbollah fired the rocket that hit a football field in the town. Hezbollah yesterday denied any repsonsiblitiy for the strike. The victims named thus far were all aged between 10 and 16.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has assessed the situation with Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, head of the Israeli army's Northern Command, and announced that he had given instructions to prepare for all possible developments and to be "in a state of maximum alert."

Gallant's office said the minister had been presented with options for responding to the strike, which it has blamed on Hezbollah, that killed 12 people in Majdal Shams. "Hezbollah will not wash itself clean of this incident, even with its ridiculous denials. It fired the shots, and it will pay a heavy price for its actions," he said.

The French Foreign Ministry has condemned the attack that killed 12 people on Saturday on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, calling for "a new military escalation to be avoided." reports AFP.

"France condemns in the strongest possible terms the attack that struck the Druze locality of Majdal Shams, in the occupied Syrian Golan, with a particularly heavy toll," Paris said in a statement. "France calls for everything possible to be done to avoid further military escalation, and will continue to make representations to the parties to this end," added the Quai d'Orsay.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has landed in Israel after his visit to the U.S., according to Haaretz and other Israeli media outlets.

"The prime minister is currently en route to the military headquarters in Kirya for a security assessment and a discussion within the war cabinet," his office announced,  the Times of Israel reports.

⚡ Hezbollah is on high alert on, Reuters reports, citing two security sources, as tensions spiral following yesterday's deadly strike in Majdal Shams, which Israel has blamed on the armed group. Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the attack.

The security sources reportedly said Hezbollah has preemptively cleared out some key sites in both Lebanon's south and the eastern Bekaa Valley in the event of a possible attack by Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says "all indications" point to the rocket that fell on Majdal Shams have been fired by Hezbollah.

"Nothing justifies terrorism, and all indications are that the rockets came from Hezbollah," said Blinken, speaking at a press conference in Tokyo.

⚡ The U.S. has asked the Lebanese government to "restrain Hezbollah," the Lebanese Foreign Ministry tells Reuters. For its part, Lebanon asked Washington "to urge Israel to restrain," and asserted that "any significant attack by Israel would lead to a regional war," the agency adds.

Here is the latest from south Lebanon:

* Israeli warplanes flew low over the Saida region, sources tell our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.

* Israeli artillery shelled the area around Naqoura (Sour), according to local residents.

* The Amal-affiliated medical association al-Risala Scouts reported that its members helped evacuate people and put out fires after Israeli strikes in Abbasieh and Burj al-Shemali, near Sour.

Gaza toll update: At least 39,324 Palestinians have been killed and 90,830 wounded in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Health Ministry in the Palestinian enclave, quoted by Reuters.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has condemned the "appalling" attack that killed 12 people on Saturday in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, calling for "cool-headed action," AFP reports.

"The perfidious attacks must stop immediately. It is now important to act with composure. Far too many people have already died in this conflict," she said on X (formerly Twitter).

The White House yesterday reaffirmed its "iron-clad and unwavering" support for Israeli security in the face of "all Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah.”

The U.S. "will continue to support efforts to end these terrible attacks along the Blue Line," a National Security Council spokesman said, calling it "a top priority."

The remarks come following what Israel claims was a Hezbollah strike on Majdal Shams in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, which killed 12 people yesterday. Hezbollah denies any responsibility for the attack.

U.S. intelligence officials have no doubts that Hezbollah carried out yesterday's strike on the Golan Heights, AP reports, citing a person familiar with the matter who is not authorized to comment publicly. According to AP, the source added that it is not clear whether Hezbollah intended to strike the target or misfired.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry says Hezbollah has "crossed all red lines" after a rocket it claims was fired from Lebanon killed 12 people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights yesterday.

"Saturday's massacre constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah. This is not an army fighting another army, but a terrorist organization deliberately killing civilians," Israel Katz said in a statement.

Hezbollah has denied any responsibility for the strike.

An Israeli army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said this morning that the projectile that hit Majdal Shams yesterday was "an Iranian Falaq-1 rocket fired by Hezbollah, carrying a 50-kilogram warhead."

Hezbollah, which had announced an attack with a Falaq-1 rocket on an Israeli military position near Majdal Shams shortly before the fatal strike, denied any responsibility, while several sources raised the possibility that it was an Israeli interceptor missile that missed its target and crashed into the village.

Hezbollah first claimed to have used a Falaq-1 missile in January, in an attack on the Israeli ‘Maalih Golan’ barracks, which lies opposite the Lebanese town of Kfar Shuba and the occupied Shebaa farms.

Druze women mourn near the coffins of loved ones after a strike Israel says came from Lebanon fell in Majdal Shams village in the Israeli-annexed Golan area on July 28, 2024. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)

Haaretz has reported the names of 11 of the 12 victims of yesterday's strike on Majdal Shams: Ameer Rabeea Abu Saleh, 16; Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 15; Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, 11; Milar Muadad Sha'ar, 10; Vinees Adham Al-Safadi, 11; Naji Taher Halabi, 11; Johnny Wadeea Ibrahim, 13; Yazan Nayeif Abu Saleh, 12; Iseel Nasha'at Ayoub, 12; Fajer Laith Abu Saleh, 16; and Nathem Fakher Saeb. Haaretz did not report Nathem Fakher Saeb's age. 

Israel's army says the children were killed by a Hezbollah rocket launched from Lebanon. Hezbollah denies any responsibility for the attack.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein has posted on X that "the only way that the world can prevent a full scale war which would be devastating also to Lebanon is by forcing Hezbollah to implement Security Council Resolution 1701. Now is the very last minute to do so diplomatically."

Resolution 1701 stipulates that only the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL should be deployed south of the Litani River.

Iran has warned Israel against what it called any "new adventure" in Lebanon, in a statement issued by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, Reuters reports.

An Israeli strike was also reported in the Bekaa, according to information from our local correspondent Sarah Abdallah. Just before 4 a.m., an Israeli drone strike targeted an area between Taraya and Shmustar, west of Baalbeck.

Israeli aircraft also bombed Khiam and Kfar Kila (Marjayoun).

An Israeli guided missile was fired at Tayr Harfa (Sour), causing damage to several houses.

Prior to this, Israeli artillery fire was also reported at around 10 p.m. on the outskirts of Shebaa (Hasbaya).

In south Lebanon, the night was marked by Israeli bombardments of several villages that had so far been spared strikes, according to security sources quoted by our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.

In Burj al-Shemali, east of Sour, the Israeli air force struck a medical supplies warehouse at around 2 a.m., according to our correspondent's sources. The building was close to residential areas, and the strike lightly injured three local residents. Damage was reported to buildings and cars in the area.

A fighter jet also hit the outskirts of Abbasieh, also east of Sour, for the first time since Oct. 8.

EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell last night condemned the "bloodbath" in the Golan Heights and called for an "independent international inquiry."

During the night, Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel said that after the deadly strike on Majdel Shams the response would be "no less than that against the Houthis" a week ago.

Israel retaliated by bombing the port of Hodeida in Yemen, killing several people, following a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed one person.

In a joint statement, the U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeannine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the head of the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon (UNIFIL), Araldo Lazaro, "deplored the death of civilians, children and adolescents, in Majdel Shams." Intensifying exchanges of fire "could ignite a wider conflagration that would engulf the entire region in a catastrophe beyond belief," they said.

Lebanese media also reported that Hezbollah had warned UNIFIL that any Israeli "adventure" would provoke an "explosive response," even at the risk of all-out war.

According to a new report by Israeli army spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, quoted by AFP, the attack on Majdal Shams "caused the deaths of 12 young boys and girls." Eighteen other young people were injured, according to the emergency services.

Good morning,

It's day 296 of the war in the Gaza Strip. It is also the 295th day since Hezbollah opened a "solidarity" front in southern Lebanon.

The day begins amid high tension on the Lebanon-Israel border following yesterday's deadly strike on Majdal Shams in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

Follow us here for live updates on the conflict and its repercussions in the region.