IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari spoke Saturday evening, responding to the rocket attack on a soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in northern Israel.
"This evening, in a terrible disaster, ten Israeli children were killed and about twenty were injured, due to a rocket fired by Hezbollah, which hit a soccer field in the center of Majdal Shams," Hagari said. "The victims are all children between the ages of ten and twenty."
"We share the grief of the families of the victims and embrace the entire Druze community at this difficult time. We send strength to those injured and wish them a speedy recovery."
Hagari added, "From the initial inquiry into the incident, an alert was activated, but it was an immediate alert that was too short. From the IAF's inquiry, at the moment it appears that this was a single rocket. We are now looking into this in-depth and will release the details transparently to the public."
"We are in contact with the officials of the local authority in Majdal Shams, as we have been throughout the last months, and we are accompanying them. In recent hours, the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff have been conducting several situational assessments with the participation of the Head of the ISA, the Head of the Mossad, and the members of the General Staff, and they are continuing at this stage as well.
"As of this time, there is no change in the Home Front Command's guidelines. If there are any changes - we will update via media channels and the official channels of the IDF and the Home Front Command.
Hagari also responded to Hezbollah's denial of responsibility: "In the past hour, Hezbollah has been lying and denying its responsibility for the incident. Our intelligence is clear - Hezbollah is responsible for killing innocent children. Ten-year-old children. And once again, the brutality of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization was exposed. This is a very serious incident and we will act accordingly. The IDF will do everything to protect the citizens of the State of Israel."