10 killed as rocket hits football ground in Israel-occupied Golan Heights

Ten people, including children, were killed in a rocket attack on a football ground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, Israel’s N12 News reported, the worst incident yet in months of violence between Israel and armed groups in Lebanon.

The Israeli military said the rocket was fired by Lebanese group Hezbollah. The Iran-backed group denied any involvement in the attack, which looked likely to draw a fierce response from Israel.

The Israeli emergency service said earlier that nine people were critically wounded by a rocket fired from Lebanon that hit a village football pitch in the Druze village of Majdal Shams. A medic described great destruction and fire at the scene.

“We witnessed great destruction when we arrived at the soccer field, as well as items that were on fire. There were casualties on the grass and the scene was gruesome,” said Magen David Adom medic Idan Avshalom.

A witness told Reuters: “It landed in the soccer pitch, all of them are children … many bodies and remains are in field we don’t know who they are.” She asked not to be named.

The attack on the soccer pitch followed an Israeli strike in Lebanon that killed four militants on Saturday. Two security sources in Lebanon said the four fighters killed in the Israeli strike on Kfarkila in southern Lebanon were members of different armed groups, with at least one of them belonging to Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said its aircraft had targeted a military structure belonging to Hezbollah, after identifying a militant cell entering the building.

At least 30 rockets were then fired from Lebanon across the border, the military said.

“According to an IDF situational assessment and the intelligence in our possession, the rocket launch toward Majdal Shams was carried out by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation,” the military said.

Hezbollah claimed at least four attacks, including with Katyusha rockets, in retaliation for the Kfarkila attacks. However senior Hezbollah media representative Mohammad Afif denied responsibility for the strike on Majdal Shams.

In a written statement, but group said “the Islamic Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with the incident, and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard”.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since October, after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel triggered the Gaza war, in their worst escalation since 2006.