Israeli government gives green light to defense minister to respond to attack on Majdal Shams soccer field
Lebanese media reported several drone and missile attacks in the south of the country against positions of the Hezbollah group, responsible for the death of 12 minors in Israel.
Burial in Majdal Shams, Israel.
Israel is preparing its response to the Hezbollah attack that killed 12 minors in a soccer field in the town of Majdal Shams. Government ministers gave their approval to Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday to respond to the attack.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, during the four-hour meeting, the components of the Israeli Administration voted to give Netanyahu and Gallant authority to decide on the intensity and timing of the response to Saturday's deadly missile attack on the Druze village in the Golan Heights.
According to the Times of Israel, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, hardliners in favor of tougher retaliation, abstained from the vote.
12 minors killed in Golan Heights
The attack was attributed to the terrorist group Hezbollah, which has been launching missile and drone attacks against northern Israel constantly since the start of the war in Gaza. According to the IDF, the missile that hit the soccer field and killed the 12 minors was Iranian-made.
Throughout this week, the Druze community in the Golan Heights is organizing the burials of these 12 minors and calling on the Netanyahu government to react to the tragedy.
Although the IDF has not confirmed it, some reports indicate that Israel conducted several air strikes in southern Lebanon Sunday night to Monday. They attacked positions of the terrorist group Hezbollah. According to Lebanese media, the strikes reportedly left at least two dead and several wounded. The IDF reportedly struck a vehicle belonging to the armed Shiite group in the town of Shaqra. According to The Times of Israel, the attacks have taken place in Houla and Markaba.
Open war with Hezbollah
This latest attack adds to the tense atmosphere along Israel's northern border. Repeated attacks by the Shiite terrorist group have threatened to escalate the level of violence to open conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which could lead to a ground operation in southern Lebanon.
On Sunday, Netanyahu's executive denounced that the latest attack "crossed all red lines." For its part, the Lebanese government is calling on the United States to mediate in order to contain Israel, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters. Two security sources in Lebanon told Reuters that Hezbollah was on high alert and had cleared some key locations in both southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley in case of an Israeli attack.
Threat from Turkey
This Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made remarks at a public event in which he threatened to invade Israel. Within hours of news of Hezbollah's attack on the Majdal Shams soccer field, the Turkish president issued a message to Israel in the face of a possible escalation of the conflict in Lebanon.
"We must be very strong so that Israel cannot do these things to Palestine," Erdogan declared. "Just like we went into [Nagorno] Karabakh, just like we went into Libya, we could do the same thing to them. There is nothing we can't do. We just have to be strong."
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Turkey has positioned itself as one of the NATO member nations most critical of Israel and the Netanyahu government.
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