Funeral of Victims of Missile Attack on Majdal Shams; Gallant: Hezbollah Will Pay a Heavy Price Despite Its 'Ridiculous Denials'

As the funeral of some victims of the missile attack on Majdal Shams took place on Saturday, Yoav Gallant, Israel's Defense Minister, stated that Hezbollah would face consequences for this deadly attack "even with its ridiculous denials" regarding its involvement. He mentioned that he visited the 'Northern Command' to review 'reaction plans' against Hezbollah. The Israeli Defense Minister added: 'Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy group in the region.' He emphasized that Hezbollah launched the missile and 'will bear the price, and will pay a heavy price for its actions.' In response to the missile attack by Hezbollah on 'Majdal Shams,' which resulted in the death of 12 people and injuries to dozens more, the Israeli army reported that its fighter jets attacked a series of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon overnight. Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence officials confirmed that the missile that struck this area was fired by Hezbollah. According to the Israeli army, these targets included weapon depots and other infrastructure in 'Shabriha' and 'Burj al-Nour' near 'Tyre'; the 'Beqaa Valley'; 'Kfar Kila' in southern Lebanon; 'Rab al-Talinin,' 'Khayam,' and 'Tire Harfa.' In this context, the Associated Press reported that U.S. intelligence officials confirmed Hezbollah's involvement in the attack on 'Majdal Shams,' but it remains unclear whether the targeting was intentional. A source close to U.S. intelligence told the Associated Press that they have no doubt Hezbollah conducted the attack on the Golan Heights, but it is uncertain whether this 'terrorist group' deliberately targeted the area or fired mistakenly. Following this attack, the National Security Council at the White House issued a statement saying that the United States 'will continue to support efforts to end these horrific attacks along the blue line, which must be prioritized. Our support for Israel's security against all Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, is ironclad and unwavering.' Previously, Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated at a press conference from the children's soccer field that was the site of the deadly Hezbollah attack that the attack was carried out using the Iranian-made 'Falaq 1' rocket. He noted that this rocket 'is Iranian and made in Iran and carries a warhead containing 50 kilograms of explosives.' The Israeli army spokesperson stated that the Falaq 1 rocket is used exclusively by Hezbollah and was fired from the Shabaa area in southern Lebanon. Hagari added that the death toll from this rocket attack has risen to 12. The Israeli army spokesperson had earlier emphasized that Hezbollah was responsible for this attack and that all 12 Israeli citizens killed were children and teenagers aged 10 to 20. According to him, the victims were targeted by a Hezbollah rocket while playing soccer. He described this Hezbollah attack as a 'serious incident' and added that Israel would respond 'appropriately.' Netanyahu: Hezbollah Will Pay a Heavy Price Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, expressed condolences over the deaths of children and innocent Druze due to the Hezbollah attack in a phone call with Sheikh Mowafaq Tareef, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel. Netanyahu stated in this phone call that Israel will not simply overlook this attack and that Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for it, which it has not yet paid. Netanyahu, who is still in the United States after a speech to Congress and meetings with American officials, advanced his flight return time from 11 PM to 7:30 PM on Saturday. Katz: Approaching Full-Scale War Israel Katz, the Foreign Minister, stated that Hezbollah has crossed 'all red lines' with this action. In an interview with the Times of Israel, he clarified that the Hezbollah attack is not an action of an army against another army, but rather an attack by a terrorist organization of the Iranian regime against civilians and children. Mr. Katz warned that Israel is 'approaching the moment of full-scale war against Hezbollah and Lebanon.' He promised that Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah would be destroyed in this war and that Lebanon would suffer severe damages. Yisrael Katz added that the Israeli Foreign Ministry is working on an international campaign to 'gain international support and legitimacy for action in Lebanon and directly [pointing] the finger at Iran.' Issuing Necessary Orders to the Army Yoav Gallant, Israel's Defense Minister, after holding an evaluation meeting regarding the deadly Hezbollah attack with Israeli military and intelligence officials, including Herzi Halevi, Chief of Staff of the Army, Ronen Bar, head of Shin Bet, and David Barnea, head of Mossad, reviewed options for responding to Hezbollah. The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced without providing details about this meeting: 'Gallant set the directives and issued necessary orders to the defense establishment.' Herzog: Ordered by the Iranian Regime Isaac Herzog, the President of Israel, in response to the deadly missile barrage by Hezbollah against Israeli civilians, stated that this attack was carried out at the order of the Iranian regime. He described the 'terrible and shocking disaster' of the Hezbollah attack on 'Majdal Shams' as 'heartbreaking' and added that no words can comfort the families of the victims in this Druze region in northern Israel. Herzog emphasized that Hezbollah, which is financially and militarily supported by the Islamic Republic, does not differentiate between children and adults, soldiers and civilians, Jews and Muslims, Druze and Christians. The President of Israel stressed that the world should not remain silent in the face of the terrorist attack by Hassan Nasrallah, which was carried out at the order of the 'evil empire of Iran,' and that the Israeli government will firmly defend its citizens and sovereignty. A Shift in the War Yair Lapid, the leader of the Israeli opposition, while expressing sympathy for the victims of the deadly Hezbollah attack, stated that the situation in northern Israel cannot continue as it is and added that Netanyahu should be in Israel during such times. Additionally, the Times of Israel reported that Israel's response to the deadly Hezbollah attack will be 'very aggressive.' Israeli rescuers are transferring one of the injured from the deadly Hezbollah attack to Majdal Shams in northern Israel, which left 12 dead and over 30 injured. Saturday, August 6, 1403. The Times of Israel quoted an Israeli official as saying that the Majdal Shams disaster could indicate a 'shift in the war.' This is the deadliest attack by Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group, on Israel in recent years. Images and videos released on social media show a multitude of rescuers and Israeli citizens at the soccer field where the attack occurred. Hezbollah, which had earlier admitted to firing 100 rockets at northern Israel, claimed after the casualty figures among Israeli citizens rose that it had no connection to this deadly attack. The soccer field targeted by Hezbollah's deadly rocket attack is located in Majdal Shams in the Israeli Golan Heights. According to Israeli media reports, most of the victims of this Hezbollah attack are children aged 10 to 20 from the Arabic-speaking Druze minority. The condition of the injured from this Hezbollah attack is reported to be critical. The Israeli army announced that following Hezbollah's attacks on northern Israel, especially the Majdal Shams area, 'the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, and the commander of the Northern Command, Major General Uri Gordin... are assessing the situation.' The Jerusalem Post also reported the interception and destruction of two Hezbollah drones by the Israeli army. Hezbollah's rocket attack, the main proxy arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran, against children and civilians in northern Israel follows a deadly Israeli attack on this group's militants on Saturday, which resulted in the deaths of four senior Hezbollah members. Just one day after the terrorist attack on October 15 of last year by Hamas in southern Israel, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and over 250 others, including women and children, were taken hostage, Hezbollah unilaterally began its missile and drone attacks on residential areas in northern Israel. The Israeli army has also targeted heavy attacks against this Iranian proxy group's positions in Lebanon and Syria in response to Hezbollah's cross-border attacks, killing nearly 400 members, including many of its senior commanders. Israel has stated that nearly 80,000 citizens living in the northern regions of the country have been displaced due to Hezbollah's attacks. So far, U.S. diplomatic efforts to push Hezbollah back across the Litani River, 30 kilometers from the shared border of Israel and Lebanon, based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, have failed. Israeli officials have warned that if a diplomatic solution to end the conflicts along the shared border with Lebanon is not found and Hezbollah does not cease its cross-border attacks against Israel by retreating from border areas, they will do whatever is necessary to defend their citizens. The decision-making regarding war with Hezbollah is one of the important reasons for Netanyahu's trip to Washington; explanations by Hassan Hashemian, a commander of the Israeli army, about the country's readiness for a decisive attack against Hezbollah; Biden emphasized America's ironclad commitment to Israel's security against the threats of the Islamic Republic and its proxy groups; Israeli fighter jets attacked 'two military depots' of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.