The Chief of Staff, Hertzi Halevi, visited the scene of the rocket strike in Majdal Shams last night and conversed with the heads of the Druze community and with residents.
"Hezbollah does not distinguish between killing Druze or Jews. It is a terrorist organization, it wants to harm civilians, it wants to harm soldiers. We have been fighting for over nine months, soon to be ten months, against Hezbollah in the north, inflicting severe blows on Hezbollah," said Halevy.
He declared, "I have been in conversation with the Prime Minister in the United States and with the Minister of Defense. We are fighting very resolutely against Hezbollah, all this time, and this incident will bring about a very very significant response."
"Our goals are very clear. We will hurt Hezbollah hard, we will take the north back, we will return the residents to their homes in the north with confidence. We are very determined to do this and we will protect you here well. I say here something to all the residents of the area, to be very careful of the instructions because we will respond. Be patient."
"When we respond, there may be more shooting here, and we must be very careful to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command, the instructions of Northern Command, because we want to hit Hezbollah hard, but not take any more casualties here. I have come to tell you that we will fight with great determination against Hezbollah, we fought before, and after this terrible and tragic event we will fight even more."
In the attack, which was the most severe event in the north since October 7, twelve children and youths were murdered by a direct rocket hit in Majdal Shams.
Twenty-nine people were injured in the incident, six seriously, three moderately and ten lightly. The impact occurred in a soccer field adjacent to a playground, during a heavy barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon into the area and the Galilee.
23 casualties were brought to Ziv Hospital, including 4 seriously injured, 5 moderately and 14 lightly, and 4 casualties to Poriya Hospital, including 2 seriously and 2 lightly. 2 moderately injured Vic were taken to Rambam Hospital. Several shock victims were treated at the scene.
Forty-two people have been killed by Hezbollah fire in the north since the war began - 23 civilians and 19 soldiers.