Tragic attack on Druze village takes northern conflict to new level

Lebanon is on high alert for Israeli retaliation following a Hezbollah attack on the village of Majdal Shams, which killed 12 children at a soccer game on Saturday.

Diplomatic and intelligence sources report terror groups affiliated with Hezbollah and Iran are evacuating positions along the Syrian-Lebanese border.

International governments, including Australia, have warned their nationals to leave Lebanon in anticipation of a deteriorating security situation.

The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation channel (LBC) stated that "Israel has decided to attack Lebanon, and the matter is already finalised. Now the parties are working so that the Israeli response will be limited in size and location, and not in the big cities and especially not in Beirut, so as not to drag Hezbollah into reacting with greater force".

A US  administration official expressed concern that the deadly Hezbollah strike could spark an all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group. “What happened today could be the trigger we have been worried about and tried to avoid for 10 months,” the official told Axios on Saturday.

But White House spokesperson John Kirby attempted to hose down fears, telling reporters on Monday that he believes fear of major escalation is exaggerated.

Kirby's comment suggests the administration is trying to tone down some of the public rhetoric around the situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border, while it quietly works behind the scenes to prevent a major escalation.

The attack was the single deadliest Hezbollah attack since the fighting on the Israel-Lebanon border began on October 8. All victims were aged between 10 and 20 years old and were members of Israel’s Druze community, attending a community soccer game where the rocket fell. Eyewitnesses said the alarm sounded only seconds before the rocket hit the town's soccer field.

Mashnat Mahmoud, a resident of Majdal Shams, said the windows of his house shattered from the blast. He rushed to the impact site. "Some of the bodies were unrecognisable. They must have been right at the point of impact," he said.

Hezbollah's fire was a response to an Israeli attack in the village of Kila, in which four members of Hezbollah's commando Radwan Force had been killed earlier. The Iran-backed terror organisation has gradually intensified its responses to Israeli strikes, recently launching salvos of 100-200 rockets at a time, sometimes up to 40 kilometres from the border, in response to every assassination. On Saturday, it fired dozens of rockets at the Galilee, Mount Hermon and the northern Golan Heights.

Following the deadly strike, Netanyahu spoke to the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the Prime Minister’s Office said, and vowed that Israel would not sit idly by.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu made clear that Israel will not allow the murderous attack to simply pass on by, and that Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for this that it has not paid until this point,” his office said.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described “shocking images from the soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams”.

“I strongly condemn this bloodbath. We need an independent international investigation into this unacceptable incident. We urge all parties to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation,” Borrell said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

READ MORE

'The matter is finalized': Lebanon anxiously prepares for potential Israeli retaliation - report (Jerusalem Post)

Hezbollah will pay ‘heavy price,’ PM vows after strike on Druze town kills 12 children (Times of Israel)

White House: Risk of Israel-Hezbollah war is "exaggerated" (Axios)

DC official fears all-out war as US condemns ‘horrific’ rocket attack on Majdal Shams (Times of Israel)

Australians warned not to travel to Lebanon as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah rise (ABC)

ANALYSIS

Israel and Hezbollah closer than ever to all-out war (Amos Harel, Haaretz)
The Russian roulette Israel has been playing in the north gave way in Madjal Shams on Saturday, when Hezbollah responded to an Israeli attack on its operatives.

Majdal Shams massacre shows Israel's failure in managing Hezbollah conflict  (Seth J Frantzman, Jerusalem Post)
The massacre in Majdal Shams reveals the failures of Israel's conflict management strategy, showing how efforts to maintain peace have instead empowered its enemies.

The Druze Community in Israel, explained (Allison Kaplan Sommer, Haaretz)
 The close-knit community plays a key part in Israeli military and society, but is also divided on those issues. Who are the Druze, what is their relationship with communities across the Middle East and how has the latest war affected them?

Majdal Shams massacre highlights Solomonic predicament of Golan’s Druze community (Gianlucca Pacchiani, Times of Israel)
Torn between historic allegiance to Syria and increasing acceptance of Israeli rule, community finds itself unwillingly caught up in bloody conflict after Hezbollah attack.