Rocket Strikes Football Pitch in Israeli-Annexed Golan Heights, Killing 11 Youngsters
A devastating rocket attack struck a football pitch in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, killing 11 youngsters and wounding 19 others. The attack, which the Israeli army described as the “deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since October 7,” was carried out by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
According to the army, the rocket was fired from Lebanon and hit the football pitch in the town of Majdal Shams, where many residents retain Syrian nationality decades after the territory’s occupation in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The attack came after an Israeli strike killed four Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon, prompting the militant group to announce a flurry of retaliatory rocket attacks against the Golan and northern Israel.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the attack, saying that Hezbollah had “brutally attacked and murdered children today, whose only crime was going out to play soccer.” Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack, claiming that it had no connection to the incident.
The rocket fire was part of a larger barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon, which struck multiple locations in the Golan. Ambulances, helicopters, and mobile intensive care units were deployed to the scene, and paramedics described the scene as one of destruction and chaos.
The attack has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing that “Israel will not let this murderous attack go unanswered.” Hezbollah, meanwhile, has vowed to continue its retaliatory attacks against Israel.
The violence has claimed the lives of at least 527 people in Lebanon, including at least 104 civilians, since October. On the Israeli side, 18 soldiers and 24 civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities. The war in Gaza, which broke out after Hamas’s October 7 attack, has killed at least 39,258 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
The international community has condemned the attack, with many calling for an immediate end to the violence and a return to negotiations.
