Israel denounces that Hezbollah "crossed all red lines" with the attack that killed 12 children
IDF warns it is "significantly increasing" its readiness "for the next phase of fighting in the north."
Families of the victims mourn the slain children.
The tension in the Middle East rose several notches during the day Saturday following a Hezbollah attack on Israeli civilians that left at least 12 dead. While Israel's foreign minister, Israel Katz, denounced the Lebanese terrorist group as having "crossed all red lines," Iran warned that if Israel retaliates "there will be consequences."
Thousands of people took to the streets in the morning in Israel to participate in the funeral of the 12 Druze children who were hit by missile fire while playing soccer in the Golan Heights.
"A terrorist organization deliberately shooting at civilians"
While Israeli society remains in shock, the foreign ministry issued a harsh statement condemning what happened and pointing the finger at Hezbollah:
"Saturday's massacre means having crossed all red lines on the part of Hezbollah. This is not an army fighting another army, but a terrorist organization deliberately shooting at civilians."
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant lamented the "murder of innocent children" in the attack and stressed that the 150,000 Druze in Israel, as well as millions of Jews and Israeli Arabs "live side by side and suffer the terror of Hezbollah." In closing, Gallant warned that "we will make sure that Hezbollah, Iran's proxy, pays a price for this loss".
A statement echoed by Israel's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who warned that "we are considerably increasing our preparation for the next phase of fighting in the north." Halevi directly accused Hezbollah of wanting to "kill children" with last Saturday's attack: "We know exactly from where the rocket was launched today.... This is a Hezbollah rocket, and whoever launches such a rocket in an urbanized area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children."
Iran, through Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, warned that "any ignorant action by the Zionist regime may lead to the widening of the scope of instability, insecurity and war in the region," noting that Israel would be responsible for "the unintended consequences and reactions to such stupid behavior."
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