Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel would take “decisive action” in response to a rocket attack that killed 12 children, as he visited the site of the deadly attack in the Golan Heights on Monday (29/7).
“Like all Israeli citizens, and I think like many people around the world, we are deeply shocked by this horrific murder,” Netanyahu said at the scene of the attack, according to a statement from his office.
“These children are our children… The State of Israel will not, and cannot, let this pass unnoticed. Our response will be swift and it will be firm,” he said.
Dozens of Majdal Shams residents protested Netanyahu's visit after the burial of the last victim on Monday, while hundreds of Druze men and women turned out to attend the funeral, a journalist reported. AFP.
Many residents of Majdal Shams have rejected Israeli citizenship since Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967.
On Saturday (27/7), 12 children aged between 10 and 16 were killed after a rocket launched from Lebanon hit a soccer field in the town of Majdal Shams, where they were playing. The town is populated by the Arab Druze community.
According to the Israeli military, the rocket that hit them was an Iranian-made rocket with a 50-kilogram warhead. They also added that the rocket was launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, which has been involved in frequent cross-border clashes with Israeli forces since the Gaza war began in early October, denied responsibility for the attack. However, it claimed to have carried out several attacks on Israeli military positions the same day.
Hezbollah says its actions against Israeli forces are in support of Palestinians in Gaza and its ally, the militant group Hamas. (ah/es)
