The Israel Air Force struck Hezbollah facilities throughout Lebanon Sunday in response to a Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 Druze young people on a soccer field in an Israeli town in the Golan Heights. It was the deadliest attack on Israel since October 7, 2023, and stoked fears that the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza might broaden into a war between Israel and Hezbollah in the Hezbollah heartland of the Bekaa Valley.
Yesterday, Hezbollah fired at least two rockets into the Israeli town of Majdal Shams.
BACKGROUND:
BREAKING: Mass Casualty Event in Israel After Hezbollah Rocket Attack
Death Toll Climbs to 12 in Hezbollah Missile Strike on Golan Heights, Officials Worry of Wider War
The town is mostly Druze, who retain Syrian citizenship under the 1981 law annexing the area. and are not drafted into the Israel Defense Forces.
From the analysis of the IDF's operational systems, the rocket launch at the center of Majdal Shams was carried out from an area located north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 27, 2024
According to reliable intelligence information in the possession of the IDF, Hezbollah is… pic.twitter.com/lK5jU8liwq
The attack prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return early from his visit to the United States and immediately meet with his cabinet to plan a response.
The rockets struck a soccer field inside the city.
🚨Hezbollah Missile strike hits Majd Al-Shams in Golan Heisghts🚨
— Sunlight—Best Disinfectant (@1TxStar) July 27, 2024
Sirens sounding prior to tragic strike on Soccer Field Recreation Complex
Hebrew Media reports that these are scenes 'not seen since 10/7
Turning point in North
pic.twitter.com/MhCipp95g9
These are the victims and the mass funeral.
Iron dome missiles hit Majd al-Shams one after the other by mistake!#Israel #Lebanon#GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/deNZmkMI77
— Rezvan (@Noone1119822) July 28, 2024
Hezbollah immediately shifted from a "we did it" celebration to playing Sergeant Schultz.
Hezbollah realised they're all about to be obliterated, and immediately went from "We did it" to "We did nothing".
— 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) July 27, 2024
Too late, demons. pic.twitter.com/RYZkW5Zh6M
This was followed by terror simps on social media claiming that the rocket was an errant Iron Dome missile.
Confirms? Do you speak Syrian? He claims a rocket appeared immediately after the siren, yet Hezbollah denied firing it. He then contradicts himself, saying it wasn't a rocket due to the impact size.https://t.co/at3J3paj1n
— Rami (@OziRami) July 28, 2024
This account is a pro-Assad account, excluding the fact that it still wasn't all that convincing.
This video appears to show a successful Iron Dome interception. We don't know where or when it was taken; what we do know is that the impact of debris from the interception is not in Majdal Shams.
You lie more than you breathe
— احمد الثابتي (@a_althabte) July 27, 2024
Iron Dome missiles killed civilians in Majdal Shams, not Hezbollah missiles
The video was taken above Majdal Shams, showing the defect in the dome
Iron.
The moment the Israeli interceptor missile fell over the heads of Arab citizens pic.twitter.com/RkYtlBZf0z
Here is another video purporting to be the same event, even though it obviously isn't.
Iron dome missiles hit Majd al-Shams one after the other by mistake!#Israel #Lebanon#GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/deNZmkMI77
— Rezvan (@Noone1119822) July 28, 2024
Even if both were taken when and where claimed, they definitively prove that nothing from Iron Dome missiles fell in Majdal Shams.
This Israeli response was not long in coming.
Israel’s military said it targeted Hezbollah weapons caches and militant infrastructure in Lebanon overnight, including in the areas of Chabriha, Borj El Chmali, Beqaa, Kfarkela, Rab El Thalathine, Khiam and Tayr Harfa.
#BREAKING: #Israel just started punishment of #Hezbollah terrorist organization in #Lebanon. It is #IDF's response to massacre of Deruze children in Majd Al-Shams. Fighter jets of #IsraeliAirForce are bombing Hezbollah targets in Abbasiya, Kafr Kila, Teir Harfa, Kafra & Khiam. pic.twitter.com/QqquLIFYcg
— Babak Taghvaee - The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) July 27, 2024
#BREAKING: The #Israel Air Force has now released footage showing its airstrikes at weapon storage facilities of #Hezbollah terrorist organization in south of #Lebanon. It was a response to the killing of Deruze children at the football field of Majd Al-Shams. pic.twitter.com/Baw0RLYYn6
— Babak Taghvaee - The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) July 28, 2024
Because of the specifics of the attack — the victims were Druze, not Israeli, and it took place in Golan, not Israel-proper — the odds of this being the flashpoint for a wider regional war are limited. One of the unintended consequences may be solidifying Druze support for Israel among those living there and creating an enemy for Hezbollah in Syria.
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