Today (Saturday), a particularly difficult attack took place in Majdal Shams, the Druze town at the foot of Mount Hermon: A direct hit by a rocket on a playground resulted in the death of at least 10 children who played football and the injury of dozens. The details of the incident have not yet been fully clarified, and this may have been the Burkhan rocket, which is a high-weight rocket with hundreds of kilograms of explosives.
The incident took place after a day of exchanges of blows in the north, which began after a targeted thwarting of a Hezbollah terrorist squad in Lebanese territory in a targeted air attack, in which 4 terrorists were killed. Hezbollah responded by firing dozens of rockets and mortar shells at various areas on the northern border, particularly in the direction of the Golan Heights, an area that the terrorist organization has in recent months made ti be a “response zone” for Israel. Just three weeks ago, the Baranes couple were killed in the Golan Heights after a direct hit by a Hezbollah rocket in their vehicle.
In any case, it is clear that the extreme incident, which constitutes the most severe civilian injury to Israel since the outbreak of war, will lead to a harsh response by Israel and a step up in the war. Israel launched operation “adequate wage”, which began the second Lebanon war, after 10 soldiers were killed on the northern border, in an attack by Hezbollah on 12/7/2006. 10 children, residents of Israel, undoubtedly justify a response of similar magnitude, although times have changed and the enemy has changed.
Sheikh Muafek Tarif, head of the Druze community in Israel, responded to the attack on Majdal Shams: “We are deeply shocked by the terrible massacre that took place tonight in the Druze community of Majdal Shams, in a brutal and murderous terrorist attack that hit innocent children playing football… A civilized country cannot afford to suffer continuous harm to its citizens and residents. This is the reality that has been going on for nine months in the settlements in the north. Tonight it crossed every possible red and black line.” Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz also expressed in a similar spirit: “We will respond disproportionately… We are approaching an all-out war with Hezbollah, and the response to this will be appropriate.” The Defense Minister and the Chief-of-Staff are assessing the situation, and so is Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is currently in the process of completing his diplomatic visit to the United States, which he may need to shorten.
