Netanyahu: Hezbollah Will Pay Heavily for Majdal Shams Strike

A strike that resulted in the deaths of 12 young people in Majdal Shams, located in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short his U.S. trip and return home. Israel has accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah of firing a Falaq-1 Iranian rocket, but the Iran-backed group has denied any involvement.

Upon his return, Netanyahu immediately convened a security cabinet meeting. He stated, “Hezbollah will pay a heavy price, a price it has not paid before.” The cabinet authorized Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to determine the timing and manner of the response against Hezbollah. Details of the planned response were not disclosed.

Earlier on Sunday, Gallant visited the scene of the attack and vowed that Israel would “hit the enemy hard.” The Israeli foreign ministry asserted that Hezbollah had “crossed all red lines.”

In anticipation of Israel’s retaliation, Hezbollah evacuated several positions near the border and in eastern Lebanon. Israel’s military later confirmed strikes on Hezbollah targets “both deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon.”

The strike in Majdal Shams hit a football field, killing children aged 10 to 16, according to local authorities.

Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, suggested that Hezbollah’s intended target was close enough to Majdal Shams to be within the margin of error for the inaccurate rockets. However, he did not rule out the possibility of a misfire from an Israeli air-defense missile and called for an independent investigation.

The rocket fire on Majdal Shams followed an Israeli strike that killed four Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, leading to Hezbollah’s retaliatory rocket attacks against the Golan Heights and northern Israel.

The White House affirmed that the rocket launch was carried out by Lebanese Hezbollah and originated from an area under their control.

In a joint statement, U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) chief Aroldo Lazaro warned that the escalating exchanges of fire could trigger a wider conflict. Lebanon called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts” and later requested an “international investigation” into the strike.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani cautioned that any reckless action by Israel could escalate instability and war in the region. Meanwhile, Israel’s foreign ministry described the incident in Majdal Shams as a “massacre” and accused Hezbollah of deliberately targeting civilians.

Many residents of Majdal Shams, a Druze town, have not accepted Israeli nationality since Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967. Syria condemned Israel’s accusations against Hezbollah, claiming that Israel was seeking “pretexts to enlarge its aggression.”

Since October, cross-border fire has resulted in at least 527 deaths in Lebanon, with most being fighters, but also including at least 104 civilians. In northern Israel, 22 soldiers and 24 civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah indicated that if a ceasefire were achieved in Gaza, his group would cease cross-border attacks. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized that the best way to prevent the Gaza conflict from escalating is to secure a ceasefire, which has been the focus of ongoing efforts. Egyptian state-linked media reported that talks were scheduled to take place in Rome on Sunday.