Attacks in Gaza, Golan raise fears of wider war
GAZA CITY
The Health Ministry in Gaza has said an Israeli strike on a school killed 30 people, while a rocket fired from Lebanon killed 12 youngsters in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
Israeli airstrikes hit the school used by displaced Palestinians in central Gaza, killing at least 30 people including several children, as the country’s negotiators prepared to meet international mediators about a proposed ceasefire.
Seven children and seven women were among the dead taken from the girls' school in Deir al-Balah to Al Aqsa Hospital. Israel's military said it targeted a Hamas command center used to direct attacks against Israeli troops and store "large quantities of weapons.” Hamas called the military’s claim false.
Civil defense workers in Gaza said thousands had been sheltering in the school, which also contained a medical site. Associated Press journalists saw a dead toddler in an ambulance and bodies covered with blankets. Shattered walls gaped and classrooms were in ruins. People searched the rubble strewn with pillows and other signs of habitation.
The Middle East was bracing for a potential flare-up in violence yesterday after Israeli authorities said a rocket from Lebanon struck a football field in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, killing 12 children and teens in what the military said was the deadliest attack on civilians since Oct. 7, 2023.
Dozens of children and teens were playing in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, which is located about 12 kilometers south of Lebanon and next to the Syrian border. Twelve young people between the ages of 10 and 20 were killed, and 20 were wounded, according to the Israeli military.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant yesterday vowed to "hit the enemy hard" following the rocket attack from Lebanon.
Israel blamed Lebanon's Hezbollah movement for the rocket fire but the Iran-backed group said it had "no connection" to the incident.
On the other hand, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that there was "every indication" that Hezbollah was behind the rocket strike.
The rocket fire in Majdal Shams prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return early from the United States to convene his security cabinet.
"Israel will not let this murderous attack go unanswered and Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for it, a price it has not paid before," Netanyahu said.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Hezbollah had "crossed all red lines,” calling the attack massacre.
Israel's military said later yesterday that it hit Hezbollah targets "both deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon.”
An Israeli drone fired two missiles at the village of Taraiyya in eastern Lebanon, destroying a hanger and a home without causing casualties, a Lebanese security source told AFP.
Call for restraint
The United Nations yesterday urged "maximum restraint", in a joint statement from their special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) chief Aroldo Lazaro.
Intensifying exchanges of fire "could ignite a wider conflagration that would engulf the entire region in a catastrophe beyond belief," they said.
The United States National Security Council condemned what it described as a "horrific attack" in Majdal Shams.
Iran warned Israel that any new military "adventures" in Lebanon could lead to "unforeseen consequences.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the "bloodbath" in the Israeli-annexed territory and called for an independent probe.
"Shocking images from the soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams. I strongly condemn this bloodbath. We need an independent international investigation into this unacceptable incident. We urge all parties to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation," Borrell said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock joined calls for restraint, saying, “It is important to act with cool heads. Far too many people have died already in this conflict.”