Israel on Brink of Two-Front War after Hezbollah Strike Kills 12 Children on Soccer Field
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Updated Aug 05, 2024
An apparent Hezbollah attack on a soccer field that killed 12 children has placed Israel on the brink of a two-front war and plunged the Middle East into a state of heightened tension. The rocket slammed into the soccer field in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on the northern border Saturday evening, killing a dozen children and sending shockwaves through a population still reeling from the Hamas attack last October. Most of the victims were between the ages of 10 and 16. Another 30 people were injured, including six in serious condition, according to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency service.
Hezbollah issued a rare denial of the attack, but Israel countered that the rocket was a Falaq 1 rocket of Iranian production that was fired from Lebanon. Such a rocket, the IDF said, is the type that Hezbollah regularly fires.
The rocket left a crater about two yards wide.
“We arrived at a soccer field and saw destruction, objects on fire,” MDA paramedic Idan Avshalom said, according to AllIsrael.com. “Casualties were lying on the grass, very difficult scenes, we immediately started sorting the casualties, some of the injured were taken to local clinics and our teams were directed to the clinics as well.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement, said he was shocked by the attack.
“Among those who were murdered are young children who were playing soccer and others. All of our hearts are broken over these sights,” he added.
Within days, Israel retaliated, striking in Beirut Tuesday and killing Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur, who it said was behind the soccer field attack. The U.S. said Shukur had helped orchestrate a 1983 bombing in Beirut that killed 241 American servicemen.
Now, Israel is preparing for another possible response from Hezbollah, which considers Hamas, its brothers in opposing Israel. Hezbollah has fired rockets into Israel regularly since October with the goal of diverting the nation’s resources from Gaza.
“Citizens of Israel, challenging days lie ahead,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Since the strike in Beirut, there are threats sounding from all directions. We are prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and determined against any threat. Israel will exact a heavy price for any aggression against us from any arena.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that “Hezbollah crossed a red line” by striking the soccer field.
Tensions in the Middle East further escalated on Wednesday when Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran when a bomb exploded in his building around 2 a.m. local time. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president.
Haniyeh’s assassination came via a bomb that had been smuggled into the building months earlier and was remotely detonated when he arrived, The New York Times reported. Haniyeh was staying in a guesthouse that is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the nation is now at war on two fronts.
“Since October 8th, I have said that we are in a state of war in the north, and the enemy needs to be defeated,” Ben Gvir said, according to AllIsrael.com. “Today, no one, in any forum, including the defense minister who strove only for containment against Hezbollah, can avoid the bloody reality -- we are at war.”
WATCH: Magen David Adom EMT Responds to Hezbollah Attack
How You Can Help
Please pray for the victims and families affected by the escalating Hezbollah attacks. You can support MAGEN DAVID ADOM by donating to provide essential emergency supplies, helping them save lives amidst this crisis. Every contribution makes a difference.
Photo Credit: ©Magen David Adom
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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