Israel has blamed the Saturday strike in Majdal Shams on Hezbollah, citing military intelligence and an assessment of the scene, and described it as the deadliest single attack on Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault. Hezbollah denied any connection to the attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top Israeli officials promised to retaliate against the Lebanese militant group, raising fears of a wider escalation in regional hostilities.
Netanyahu is scheduled to return to Israel on Sunday from his visit to the United States and is set to meet with his security cabinet after he arrives.
In a Sunday morning post on X, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant mourned the victims of the Majdal Shams attack and said all people living in the area “suffer” on account of Hezbollah. “We will ensure Hezbollah, the proxy of Iran, pays a price for this loss,” he wrote on X. Earlier, Netanyahu warned: “Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for this that it has not paid so far.”
Hundreds of mourners gathered in Majdal Shams on Sunday for the funeral of those killed in the Saturday attack. The spiritual leader of the Druze community, Sheikh Muwafek Tarif, described it as a day of mourning in an interview to Israeli news outlet Ynet. He said there was a lot of anger in the community and questioned what the Israeli government had done for the area’s security.
“Harming civilians is a black line. The government must bring security to the residents,” he said.
Paramedics arrived at the soccer field Saturday to a “very difficult scene,” said United Hatzalah, an Israeli volunteer-based emergency medical services organization. Dozens of children lay injured. Nine of the victims were declared dead on the scene because of the severity of their injuries, the group said in an email. Israel’s military said those injured and killed were between 10 and 20 years old.
Fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border has intensified in recent months, with regular exchanges of fire between Hezbollah — which is backed by Iran — and Israel’s military.
“There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed all the red lines here, and the response will reflect that,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Channel 12 Saturday, adding, “We are nearing the moment in which we face an all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon.” A 34-day-war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 left hundreds of soldiers and civilians dead and injured on both sides. Hezbollah has since received large shipments of rockets and drones from Iran and produced its own weapons and has air defense capabilities.
Here’s what else to know
The attack in Majdal Shams followed a deadly strike in central Gaza, where local health authorities said at least 30 Palestinians were killed when Israel bombed a school that was sheltering displaced people. The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted a Hamas command and control center inside the Khadija school compound.
At least 39,324 people have been killed and 90,830 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 329 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.
Alon Rom and Lior Soroka contributed reporting
