Hezbollah: Israeli anti-missile interceptor falls on Golan Heights

“The civilian deaths were the result of an Israeli anti-missile interceptor falling (on the soccer pitch),” Hezbollah said in a statement.

“The Islamic Resistance is not responsible for this incident,” it added.

At least 12 people have been killed and 18 others wounded in a rocket attack on a football pitch in the town of the Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, Israeli authorities confirmed.

Israel’s military spokesman Daniel Hagari said children were among those killed and accused the Lebanese group Hezbollah of carrying out the attack on Saturday.

Hezbollah swiftly denied responsibility for the attack. The group announced in a statement it “categorically denies the allegations reported by certain enemy media and various media platforms concerning the targeting of Majdal Shams”.

“The Islamic Resistance has no connection to this incident,” it added, referring to its military wing.

Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces in areas near the Israel-Lebanon border since October 8, when Tel Aviv launched its war on the Gaza Strip.

The cross-border attacks, which Hezbollah said it launched in solidarity with the Palestinian people amid Israel’s war on Gaza, have led to fears of a larger regional conflagration.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced he would fly home early from his trip to the United States, where he met several senior US officials.

Netanyahu told the leader of the Druze community in Israel, “Hezbollah will pay a heavy price, the kind it has thus far not paid,” during a phone call, according to a statement from his office.