(Web Desk) - At least 11 people have been killed and 19 others wounded in a rocket attack on a football pitch in the town of the Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Israeli authorities said.
Israel’s military spokesman Daniel Hagari said children were among those killed and accused the Lebanese group Hezbollah of carrying out the attack on Saturday, but the group denied any involvement.
“Our intelligence is clear. Hezbollah is responsible for the killing of innocent children,” Hagari said.
“We will prepare for a response against Hezbollah … we will act,” he said.
Hezbollah swiftly denied responsibility for the attack on Saturday. The group said in a statement it “categorically denies the allegations reported by certain enemy media and various media platforms concerning the targeting of Majdal Shams”.
“The Islamic Resistance has no connection to this incident,” it said, referring to its military wing.
The Iran-aligned group has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces in areas near the Israel-Lebanon border since October 8, when Israel launched its war on Gaza.
The cross-border attacks, which Hezbollah said it launched in solidarity with the Palestinian people amid Israel’s war on Gaza, have led to fears of a larger regional conflagration.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would fly home early from his trip to the United States, where he met several senior US officials.
“Immediately upon learning of the disaster in Majdal Shams, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed that his return to Israel be brought forward as quickly as possible,” Netanyahu’s office said in a post on X.