Israel's War Cabinet Authorizes Government to Respond to Hezbollah Attack on Golan Heights

(Patria) - Israel's security cabinet on Sunday authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to decide on the "method and timing" of a response to a rocket attack on the Golan Heights that killed twelve teenagers and children, for which Israel and the United States blame Lebanese Hezbollah.

Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams on Saturday, the deadliest in Israel or in territory annexed by Israel since Hamas's attack on October 7th sparked the war in Gaza.

The conflict has spread to multiple fronts and risks spilling into a wider regional conflict.
Israel has vowed revenge against Hezbollah, and Israeli planes struck targets in southern Lebanon on Sunday. But expectations were that a stronger response might follow a security cabinet meeting convened by Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. After the meeting concluded, Netanyahu's office said the cabinet had "authorized the prime minister and defense minister to decide on the method and timing of the response".

The White House on Sunday blamed Hezbollah for the attack on Majdal Shams.

"This attack was carried out by Lebanese Hezbollah. It was their rocket and it was launched from an area that they control," it stated.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, said through her national security advisor that her "support for Israel's security is ironclad".

The U.S. said Washington had been in talks with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since Saturday's "horrific" attack and was working towards a diplomatic solution. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington did not want further escalation of the conflict, which has been ongoing daily between the Israeli army and Hezbollah along the border, Reuters reported.

The United Kingdom expressed concern about further escalation, while Egypt said the attack could spill into an "all-out regional war".

Thousands of people gathered at funerals in the village of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights, territory Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed, a move not recognized by most countries. Members of the Druze faith, which is related to Islam, Christianity and Judaism, make up more than half of the Golan Heights' 40,000 residents.

Crowds of mourners, many in traditional tall white and red Druze hats,
surrounded coffins as they were carried through the village.

Hezbollah initially said it had fired rockets at Israeli military sites on the Golan Heights, but said it had "absolutely no" connection to the attack on Majdal Shams. Israel said the rocket was an Iranian-made projectile fired from an area north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon, placing the blame on the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
It was not immediately clear if the children and teenagers killed were Israeli citizens.

"The rocket that killed our boys and girls was an Iranian rocket, and Hezbollah is the only
terrorist organization that has them in its arsenal," Israel's Foreign Ministry said.

Fear of Regional War

Two security sources told Reuters that Hezbollah was on alert and had cleared out some key locations in both southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley in case of an Israeli attack.

Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines said it was postponing the arrival of some flights from Sunday evening to Monday morning, without stating why.

Israeli forces have been exchanging fire with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon for months, but both sides have appeared to avoid an escalation that could lead to all-out war, potentially drawing in other powers, including the U.S. and Iran. But Saturday's strike threatens to push the standoff into a more dangerous phase. United Nations officials have called on both sides to exercise maximum restraint, warning that an escalation could lead "the entire region into catastrophe".

Lebanon has asked the U.S. to call on Israel for restraint, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters. He said the U.S. had asked the Lebanese government to convey a message to Hezbollah to also show restraint.

Iran's Foreign Ministry warned Israel on Sunday against what it called any new adventure in Lebanon.

Syria's Foreign Ministry said it holds Israel "fully responsible for this dangerous escalation in the region" and said its accusations against Hezbollah were false.

Druze communities live on both sides of the line between southern Lebanon and northern Israel, as well as on the Golan Heights and in Syria. While some serve in the Israeli military and identify with Israel, many feel marginalized in Israel, and some also refuse Israeli citizenship.