(MENAFN- IANS) Jerusalem, July 29 (IANS) Israel's security cabinet gathered on Sunday night to deliberate on retaliation measures against Hezbollah following a rocket strike on Saturday that killed 12 youngsters in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, according to Israeli officials, despite international appeals to prevent further regional escalation.
The cabinet ministers had granted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant the authority "to decide on the manner of the response against Hezbollah, and on its timing", Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement issued following the meeting.
The statement did not specify how Israel would respond to the attack.
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu held a security assessment with top security officials at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, his office said in a statement. He reviewed potential options for retaliation against Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group which Israel holds responsible for the rocket attack.
Hezbollah, engaged in ongoing fighting with Israeli forces along the Israel-Lebanon border since October 7 last year, denied any involvement in the strike.
The rocket hit a football pitch in Majdal Shams, a Druze town in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, during a football training session.
Senior Israeli officials warned that the country's response could lead to "several days" of intensive conflict with Hezbollah, according to a report on Israel's state-owned Kan TV news.
Following a situation assessment at the Northern Command with Commander Uri Gordin, Galant announced that the military had been instructed to prepare for any potential developments and to maintain "full readiness".
The Israeli foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the attack as a "crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah" and urged the international community to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, to prevent a full-scale war.
Military chief Herzi Halevi visited the football pitch in Majdal Shams on Saturday night and met with Shaykh Mowafaq Tarif, the head of the Druze community. Halevi identified the rocket as a Falaq-1 with a 53-kg warhead, attributing it to Hezbollah. "Whoever launches such a rocket into a built-up area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children," he said.
The Israel Defense Forces released a map showing the rocket's launch route from Lebanon to Majdal Shams and compared the rocket fragments found at the site to an Iranian Falaq-1.
Israeli TV channels broadcast images of thousands of mourners at the victims' funeral ceremonies, marking the deadliest attack against the Israeli side since the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict began.
"It is very difficult. The entire town is like one big family," Arin Awidat, a resident of Majdal Shams, told Channel 12 TV news. "I was afraid of going to work and leaving my children at home alone, but we never imagined that such a disaster would fall upon us," she said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a statement from the Elysee Palace, reiterated France's commitment to preventing further escalation in the Middle East. Jordan and Egypt also issued warnings about the potential for a regional war, while Iran cautioned Israel against initiating a "new adventure".
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