O Israel she says it was her rocket Hezbollah and the US stresses that all the evidence points to this. Its extremist organization Lebanon, which is financed and supported by Iran claims it was an Israeli anti-aircraft missile and adds that the Druze were never targeted.
In any case, it was an attack that left 12 children dead, sinking it Druze community in deep mourning and push the Middle East closer to a full-blown regional conflict and the entire planet to the brink of a global war. This is what we know for sure, and it has triggered a diplomatic frenzy aimed at preventing this nightmare scenario from becoming reality.
Israel – Hezbollah: The war that will plunge the Middle East and the world into the abyss?
A conflict involving everything
If Netanyahu’s government declares war on Hezbollah or Lebanon as a whole, the conflict will certainly not end there. Tehran has already hinted that it will get involved, declaring that “there will be consequences.” The US and other Western powers will not be able to stand idly by. The Arab world (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan) will also find it difficult to maintain the distance it has maintained since the horrific attack of October 7 and the beginning of the bloody war and humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Even powers such as Russia or China could be drawn into such a conflict. A catastrophic domino effect will be underway. That is why everyone is trying to prevent the first brick from falling.
US and Middle Eastern diplomats worked hard Sunday to prevent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah from escalating into war, as a Druze community in the Golan Heights buried its children.
The Israeli cabinet is currently meeting to decide its next steps following the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hasty return from Washington. The Israeli military struck several targets deep inside Lebanon on Sunday morning in a first response. However, these were targeted strikes on Hezbollah installations and there were no reports of casualties.
As many in Lebanon prepare for an Israeli attack, Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines said it was suspending flights.
Hezbollah said it had nothing to do with the deaths, but claimed responsibility for a series of other attacks in the area on Saturday, including firing a Falaq-1 missile at an Israeli military installation a few miles from the site of the attack. The Israeli military said an Iranian-made Falaq-1 hit the soccer field where children and teenagers were playing and was fired from the southern Lebanese village of Chebaa.
The US is also in communication with Iran
U.S. officials have reached out to their counterparts in Israel and Lebanon and exchanged messages with Iran in an effort to ease tensions, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Arab and European officials familiar with the matter. All sides have said they do not want to escalate the conflict, but the chances of a miscalculation remain high.
Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken said on Sunday there was every indication the rocket was fired by Hezbollah and stressed that it was Israel’s right to defend its citizens. He added, however, that it was important to prevent the situation from escalating.
Crossed red lines
“We are approaching the moment of all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said shortly after Saturday’s attack. The attack “Cross all the red lines and the response will be proportional,” he interpreted.
The critical negotiations in Rome
The attack comes at a critical moment for U.S. efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. An escalation between Israel and Hezbollah could disrupt the negotiations, which were due to resume this week in Rome.
Senior officials plan to attend the latest round of talks, including CIA Director William Burns, Israeli spy chief David Barnea, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.