On Sunday Israel’s security cabinet authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to decide on the timing of a response to a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 teenagers and children, and which Israel and the United States blamed on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah denied accountability for the attack on Majdal Shams on Saturday, the deadliest in Israel since Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza. That conflict has spread to many fronts and risks spilling into a wider regional conflict.
Israel has promised retaliation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Israeli jets hit targets in southern Lebanon during the day on Sunday. But there were expectations that a stronger response could follow the security cabinet meeting convened by Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu’s office said the cabinet authorized the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister to decide on the manner and timing of the response. On Sunday, the White House also blamed Hezbollah for the Majdal Shams strike. ‘This attack was conducted by Lebanese Hezbollah. It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control’, it said in a statement.
The U.S. said Washington has been in discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since Saturday’s horrific attack and that it was working on a diplomatic solution. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington did not want escalation of the conflict, which has seen daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah along the border.
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