U.S. in “continuous discussions” with Israel, Lebanon after rocket attack

The U.S. said Sunday that it has been in “continuous discussions” with Israel and Lebanon after Israel and the U.S. blamed Hezbollah for a rocket attack a day earlier on a Golan Heights soccer field that killed at least 12 children and teens, sparking fears of a broader conflict in the region. 

U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement Sunday that the rocket was a Hezbollah rocket and “launched from an area they control.” Hezbollah has denied responsibility. 

Israel’s military confirmed it had launched airstrikes against Hezbollah targets “deep inside Lebanese territory.” 

The airstrikes were apparent retaliation for Saturday’s rocket strike, which Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said was the deadliest strike against Israel since the Oct. 7 attack. Hagari said 20 others were wounded.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, traveling in Japan, told reporters on Sunday that “every indication is that indeed the rockets were from or the rocket was from Hezbollah.”  

Saturday’s attack raised fears that the conflict between Israel and Hamas would lead to a broader regional war. A U.S. official told CBS News that Saturday had been a busy day of “almost all-out war” between Israel and Hezbollah. 

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met separately with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, and also visited the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, at Mar-a-Lago.
Harris’ national security adviser, Phil Gordon, said on social media Sunday that the vice president had been briefed and is closely monitoring the situation.

“She condemns this horrific attack and mourns for all those killed and wounded,” he added.

White House officials have feared a “nightmare scenario” of an errant rocket or missile causing unintended consequences such as mass casualties and forcing a heavier Israeli response.

Biden White House officials have been working the phones trying to de-escalate and contain the response.  But U.S. officials emphasized Israel has the “right to defend itself,” and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that on “Face the Nation,” but added that “I don’t think anyone wants a wider war. So I hope there are moves to de-escalate.”

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said on “Face the Nation” on Sunday that he’s worried about Hezbollah and its allies’ “sprint to a nuclear weapon” if the conflict spirals out further. 

“I am very worried that not only could you open up a second front, but they could use these three or four months before our election to sprint to a nuclear weapon,” Graham said. “And we have to put them on notice that cannot happen.”

Thousands from the Druze community gathered in Majdal Shams to attend the funerals for those killed, according to the Times of Israel. Mourners shouted at government officials at the funerals, the Times of Israel reported, with one man yelling “get him out of here” to far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed all the red lines here, and the response will reflect that,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israeli Channel 12. “We are nearing the moment in which we face an all-out war.”

Hezbollah chief spokesman Mohammed Afif told The Associated Press that the group “categorically denies carrying out an attack” on the town of Majdal Shams.” It is unusual for Hezbollah to deny an attack.

The office of Netanyahu, who was on a visit to the United States, said he would cut short his trip by several hours, without specifying when he would return. It said he will convene the security Cabinet after arriving.

Far-right members of Netanyahu’s government called for a harsh response against Hezbollah. But an all-out war with a militant group with far superior firepower to Hamas would be trying for Israel’s military after nearly 10 months of fighting in Gaza.

Footage aired on Israeli Channel 12 showed a large blast in one of the valleys in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed in 1981. Some Druze have Israeli citizenship. Many still have sympathies for Syria and rejected Israeli annexation, but their ties with Israeli society have grown over the years.