He spoke at a press conference in Tokyo, Japan. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, July 28, that “all indications” show that the rocket that fell on the Golan Heights on Saturday was fired by Lebanese Hezbollah. “There is no justification for terrorism,” he added. For its part, the Islamist movement, which supports Hamas in Gaza, denied being the author of this attack which left 12 dead in the city of Majdal Shams. Follow our live coverage.
A crowd at the funeral of the 12 young people killed. Thousands of men and women dressed in black gathered Sunday for the funerals in Majdal Shams of the 12 youths killed the day before by the rocket fire. Several women in abayas wept as they laid flowers on the coffins of the youths, who were playing on a soccer field at the time of the tragedy, reported an AFP journalist in Majdal Shams, a small Druze town of about 11,000 inhabitants.
For Israel, the “red lines” have been crossed. “Saturday’s massacre is Hezbollah’s crossing of all red lines. This is not an army fighting another army, but a terrorist organization deliberately shooting at civilians.”the ministry said. Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the Islamist movement “would pay a high price, a price he has never paid before”.
Iran warns Israel. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman warned Israel on Sunday against “unpredictable consequences” news “adventures” military in Lebanon. “Any action (…) by the Zionist regime may lead to the worsening of instability, insecurity and war in the region”did he declare.
Western calls for restraint. DIn a joint statement by the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon and the head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the UN urged “the parties to exercise the greatest restraint”. An intensification of the exchange of fire “could trigger a wider conflagration that would engulf the entire region in an unimaginable catastrophe”they added. The German Foreign Minister also called for “act with cold blood”.
Daily gunfire since the October 7 attack. Hezbollah opened a front against Israel on their common border on October 8, 2023, and exchanges fire with the Israeli army on a daily basis. An Israeli army commander said Friday that troops in the north of the country, where Israel shares a border with Lebanon, were preparing for a “decisive offensive” against Hezbollah.