Threat of all-out war after Hezb rocket strike kills 12 kids in Israel

Mourners carry coffins of people killed in a rocket strike from Lebanon in Golan Heights. PIC/AFP

A rocket strike on Saturday at a soccer field killed at least 12 children and teens, Israeli authorities said, in the deadliest strike on an Israeli target along the country's northern border since the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began. It raised fears of a broader regional war.

Israel blamed Hezbollah for the strike in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, but Hezbollah rushed to deny any role. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for this attack, one that it has not paid so far". The Israeli military's chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, called it the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since the Hamas attack on October 7 that sparked the war in Gaza. He said 20 others were wounded.

"There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed all the red lines here, and the response will reflect that," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israeli Channel 12. "We are nearing the moment in which we face an all-out war." Hezbollah chief spokesman Mohammed Afif told The Associated Press that the group "categorically denies carrying out an attack" on the town of Majdal Shams. It is unusual for Hezbollah to deny an attack.

UAE ship arrives with 5,340 tonnes of aid

The fourth UAE aid ship bound for Gaza arrived at the port of Arish in the Egyptian governorate of North Sinai, in preparation for the entry of its cargo into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing, in coordination with the Egyptian authorities. The ship set sail from the port of Fujairah in the UAE on July 8 as part of Operation "Chivalrous Knight 3," launched by the UAE to support the Palestinian people in Gaza amidst the difficult circumstances they have been experiencing.

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