OAN Staff James Meyers
4:45 PM – Monday, July 29, 2024
Israeli officials vowed a “harsh” response against Hezbollah after it blamed the terrorist group for launching a rocket that killed 12 children at a soccer field in Israel.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is preparing an appropriate response against the Iran-backed terrorist group in a speech on Monday in front of mourners in the Golan Heights, the location of the missile attack over the weekend.
“These children are our children … The state of Israel will not, and cannot, let this pass,” he said. “Our response will come and it will be harsh.”
The attack targeted Majdal Shams, a town located in the Golan Heights near the Syrian border. Israel has controlled this region since 1967 and annexed it in 1981.
Israel retaliated by using warplanes to carry out attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon on Saturday night, Israel’s military reported on Sunday.
Additionally, Netanyahu’s warnings were followed up by Danny Danon, the Jewish State’s ambassador to the United Nations. He appeared on Fox and Friends on Monday morning to lay out his nation’s plan.
“[Israel’s] response will be swift, harsh and painful, and we are now picking the targets,” he said of the looming retaliatory strike.
“I’m sure Hezbollah will learn their lesson,” Danon warned.
However, Danon said Israel has no “intentions of a full war,” something U.S. officials have expressed concerns over since Hezbollah began firing against the Jewish State on October 8th, showing unity with Hamas.
Furthermore, White House spokesman John Kirby reiterated on Monday that the U.S stands with Israel, condemning Saturday’s attack on an Israeli soccer field that left 40 others injured, who were all between the ages of 10 to 20.
Kirby said during a press conference that the U.S. believes Hezbollah did commit the attack, despite the terrorist group’s denial, claiming that an attack of that magnitude is unacceptable.
“No nation can be expected to tolerate the kind of severe threats that Israel is facing,” Kirby told reporters.
“We certainly don’t believe that — as horrific as this attack was over the weekend — that it needs to result in any kind of escalation or broader risk of a bigger war,” he added.
Meanwhile, since Saturday’s attack, the Israeli military has carried out several airstrikes in southern Lebanon, including one drone strike that reportedly killed two Hezbollah operatives.
The drone attack was followed up by a series of airstrikes that tarnished several of Hezbollah’s weapons caches and infrastructure in Lebanon.
As of Sunday, the war has resulted in the death of 24 Israeli civilians, as well as 18 IDF soldiers and reservists.
Hezbollah estimates that 381 of its members have been killed in Lebanon and Syria, as well as dozens of civilians.
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