Thousands mourn as rocket kills 12 youths in Golan, Israel vows retaliation
Thousands gathered on Sunday for the funerals of children and young people killed in a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, as world leaders scrambled to manage the political fallout.
Members of the Druze community wept and carried caskets through the streets of Majdal Shams, while some expressed anger at government ministers in attendance, according to Israeli media reports.
Israel blamed the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah for the strike, which killed 12 people. Hezbollah strongly denied any involvement.
On Sunday, global leaders condemned the attack and sought to de-escalate tensions amid fears of a potential war between Israel and Hezbollah.
In response to Saturday’s strike, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted Hezbollah positions in Lebanon overnight, and Hezbollah struck two Israeli military bases on Sunday.
Cross-border fire between the two sides has intensified since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, triggering Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Saturday’s strike was the deadliest incident on Israel’s northern border since October.
The strike hit a football pitch in Majdal Shams, one of four towns in the Golan Heights where about 25,000 members of the Arabic-speaking Druze religious and ethnic group live. Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated that 10 of the 12 victims were between 10 and 16 years old, without releasing the ages of the other two victims.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed that Hezbollah would “pay a heavy price,” returned to Israel on Sunday after cutting short his US trip.
He planned to meet with his military chiefs to assess the situation and approve operational plans.
Although Hezbollah denied involvement in the strike, they had claimed responsibility for four other attacks earlier on Saturday, including one on a military base about 3km (2 miles) away.
At the funeral in Majdal Shams, weeping men in traditional red-topped white hats carried 10 of the white-covered caskets through the crowded streets, AFP reported.
Women in black abaya robes cried as they laid flowers on the caskets. Some mourners carried large photos of the deceased children.
Fadi Mahmud, 48, told AFP that it was the first time Majdal Shams had experienced such a loss during the war.
“Our community is very close-knit. These children are like children of everybody in the village,” he was reported as saying.
Anger among the community also boiled over at the funeral, with some directing their rage at Israeli government officials who attended, the Times of Israel reported.
“Now you come here? Ten months you didn’t come!” a man wearing a military uniform was reported as shouting at Housing Minister Nir Barkat and Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman. His comments were met with applause.
“We’re tired of your promises!” another person reportedly yelled at Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
In a video posted on social media, hecklers surrounded Mr. Smotrich, cursing and shouting, “we don’t want him!” according to a translation by the Times of Israel.
Israeli media reported that a leader of the Druze community had asked in a letter for government ministers to avoid attending the funeral to prevent the tragedy from becoming a “political event.”
The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethnic group based in Lebanon, Syria, the Golan Heights, and northern Israel. In Israel, they have full citizenship rights and make up about 1.5% of the population.
However, most Druze in the Golan Heights retain an allegiance to Syria. They can study and work in Israel, but only those with citizenship can vote and serve in the army.
The international community largely does not recognize Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights from Syria in 1981.
On Sunday, global leaders condemned the strike and cautioned against escalation, although there were differing opinions on who was responsible.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a post on X that the UK “condemns the strike in Golan Heights that has tragically claimed at least 12 lives” and Hezbollah “must cease their attacks”.
“We are deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation and destabilisation,” Secretary Lammy said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “every indication is that indeed the rocket was from Hezbollah”, but that the US did not want to see the conflict spreading.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib told the BBC that he did not think Hezbollah, which usually hits military targets, not civilians, carried out the attack, but added “it could be a mistake by the Israelis or by Hezbollah – I don’t know”.
The Lebanese government condemned the violence and called in a statement for a ceasefire on all fronts.