Israel Threatens to Escalate Attacks on Lebanon Following Rocket Attack in occupied Golan Heights
Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the rocket attack on Majdal Shams with many viewing it as a pretext for Israel to escalate its war against Hezbollah and to incite a regional war
At least 12 people, including 9 children and a teenager, were killed and several others injured after a rocket hit a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights on Saturday, July 27.
The ٍIsraeli Occupation Forces promptly accused the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon (Hezbollah) of being behind the attack. Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari threatened to respond in retaliation saying: “We will prepare for a response against Hezbollah, we will act.”
In a video statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also vowed revenge from Hezbollah saying Israel will “not let this pass in silence”. Furthermore, Israeli media outlets reported that Netanyahu decided to depart from the United States to Israel earlier than planned after being informed about the attack.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X, “For the deaths of little children, [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah should pay with his head…Lebanon as a whole has to pay the price.”
In response to the Israeli allegations, Hezbollah issued a statement saying: “The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon categorically denies the allegations reported by some Israeli media outlets and various other media platforms about targeting the Majdal Shams area. Hezbollah affirms that it has no connection to the incident whatsoever and emphatically denies all false claims in this regard.”
The head of the Druze initiative Ghaleb Saif commented on the attack saying that the missiles which fell on the Syrian Golan Heights and Galilee were Israeli interceptor missiles, which often cause significant damage to property and lives, according to Hezbollah’s official news website, Almanar. “Every day, we see how Iron Dome missiles miss their targets and end up falling on us,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani described the attack on Majdal Shams as “staged play orchestrated by the occupation regime”. Amani added that Tehran “does not expect” a wider war in Lebanon, and that Iran does “not want” but does “not fear” an escalation.
Given Israel’s pattern of blaming its adversaries for attacks that are later proven to be carried out by Israel itself, many analysts are skeptical of Israel’s version of events.
Furthermore, since October 8 when Hezbollah began to launch attacks on Israel in solidarity with Gaza, it has almost exclusively focused on military targets. Thus it would be an unusual operation for them to carry out intentionally.
The group also usually claims responsibility for its attacks, even when civilians are unintentionally hit. Axios reported that according to a US official, Hezbollah told the United Nations that the attack was “the result of an Israeli anti-rocket interceptor”.
A few hours after the attack on Majdal Shams, Prominent Lebanese politician and leader of the Druze community in Lebanon Walid Jumblatt urged all people in Lebanon and the occupied Golan Heights to be cautious of “any provocation or incitement within the enemy’s destructive agenda”, referring to the Israeli occupation.
