‘A black day’ – Shock, outrage and calls for war in Israel after Hezbollah attack kills 12 children

Israeli leaders and politicians expressed shock and outrage over the killing of 12 children and the wounding of dozens more in a rocket attack launched by Hezbollah toward the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the northern Golan Heights on Saturday evening.

Local mayor, Dolan Abu Salah, stated: simply: “A black day has fallen on Majdal Shams.”

Sheikh Muwafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, decried “the brutal and murderous attack.”

“It’s impossible to image and describe the horrific images of children and their smashed [body] parts strewn on the grass.”

“A proper country cannot allow the continued harming of its citizens and residents. This is the ongoing reality for nine months in northern communities. This evening crossed all possible lines,” Tarif stressed.

Several leaders agreed with Tarif that the ongoing situation in northern Israel could not continue and demanded the government take strong action against Hezbollah.

“I’m furious!” said Moshe Davidovich, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council in northern Israel.

“It seems that until rockets land in Caesarea, the prime minister and cabinet members will continue with the policy of ignoring the north. I call on the government to wake up from the coma and act now,” he added.

“Israel needs to completely change the equation in the north,” Economy Minister Nir Barkat said, adding that “the state of Lebanon and Hezbollah must pay a heavy price.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was still in the U.S., “to immediately convene the cabinet, even by encrypted phone, to make the decision that I have been demanding for a long time - war in the north now!”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid sharply criticized Netanyahu, who prolonged his visit to the U.S. to be able to meet former U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday. Israeli prime ministers typically do not travel during the Jewish Sabbath, which begins on Friday evening, unless during emergencies.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu should be in Israel at such times and take part in the conduct of the war,” Lapid wrote on 𝕏.

“The fact that he has not yet decided on returning to Israel is another shameful proof of his complete detachment and above all that he does not care about anything but himself… We have a responsibility to defend our citizens and restore security.”

“We are approaching the moment of an all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

“We will pay prices on the front and in the rear, but at the end of the war, Nasrallah and Hezbollah will be destroyed, the state of Lebanon will be severely damaged and we will restore peace and security to the northern settlements,” Katz vowed.

He added that he ordered his ministry to “prepare for a comprehensive action in the world to obtain support and legitimacy for Israeli action in Lebanon and to point the finger directly at Iran.”

“Iran is the head of the snake that finances, trains, and arms Hezbollah and all terrorist organizations in the region and bears direct responsibility for the results. The world must impose heavy sanctions on it and stop it now, before it's too late,” he added.