Israel blames Hezbollah for a deadly rocket strike in the Golan Heights

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We have an eyewitness account of the scene where a rocket struck near Israel's border with Lebanon.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

That rocket killed 12 children and wounded many more. Israel blames the Lebanese group, Hezbollah, and they're deciding how to respond. Now, Hezbollah denies responsibility, but the incident has, again, raised concerns of an even wider war in the Middle East.

INSKEEP: NPR's Kat Lonsdorf traveled to the Golan Heights, the Israeli occupied area where the rocket fell. Hi there, Kat.

KAT LONSDORF, BYLINE: Hey, Steve.

INSKEEP: What did you see?

LONSDORF: So, the strike happened in the town of Majdal Shams. That's very close to the border with Lebanon, like you said, You know, the community there is largely Druze. That's an Arab minority population. They're not Jewish, and some of them are Israeli citizens. And the town yesterday was completely in mourning. You know, all the shops were closed. There were black flags flapping in the wind on practically every corner. And everyone that we could see was wearing black. The grief there was palpable. People seemed like they didn't quite know what to do with themselves.

This is a really tight-knit community, and everyone we talked to was either related to a victim or knew someone who was. We went to the soccer field where the strike happened, and there were hundreds of people gathered there. It's turned into kind of a makeshift memorial with wreaths placed in the crater where the rocket hit. But the scene was also still really fresh. We were there less than 24 hours after this happened. There was an Israeli organization there that's dedicated to collecting the remains of victims after terrorist attacks, and members of the community were donning rubber gloves and volunteering, going around and sifting through the scene to collect any human remains of the victims they could find. You know, It was quite sobering.

INSKEEP: Well, Israel is deciding how to respond to this. The United States will have its advice and its opinions. How did people on the ground want Israel to respond?

LONSDORF: Yeah, people are really angry. You know, they say this is one of the biggest tragedies their community has ever seen. Here's 52-year-old Nassar Abusalah (ph). He rushed to the scene after it happened and tried to help. You know, he spent all night there. He said his best friend's 15-year-old daughter was killed.

NASSAR ABUSALAH: (Non-English language spoken).

LONSDORF: "We wanted a very strong reaction yesterday," he said. "The response we want is to eliminate everything related to Hezah and Lebanon, period." But, you know, others cast doubt on Israel acting with full force in a response. Some said they felt like the Druze community wasn't a high priority for the Israeli government. Many of them are not Israeli citizens. And since it was their children who died, maybe Israel wouldn't take it as seriously. But I will say the rhetoric from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government does seem like they are taking it seriously. Netanyahu met with a security cabinet late into the night last night, and his office put out a statement saying that quote, "Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for it that it has not paid so far."

INSKEEP: Well, what are the early signs as to what that price might be?

LONSDORF: So we're still waiting to see. I mean, last night, we were waiting to see if that response would come after that security cabinet meeting. You know, there were reports in Lebanon of limited Israeli air strikes, but that's kind of par for the course these days. It does seem like neither side really wants a full-out war to begin, but the Israeli military has been making it clear for months now that they are prepared for a bigger war, if, in fact, that is the way they choose to go. So it's not out of the question. But you know, Israel is, of course, still fighting a war in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending soon. On the same day that this strike happened up here in the Golan Heights, an Israeli air strike hit yet another school sheltering displaced Palestinians, killing 30 people, many of whom were also children. And there is increasing pressure here in Israel for Netanyahu to agree to a cease-fire deal with Hamas and Gaza, not only to bring the hostages home, but also to refocus military efforts up here in the North against Hezbollah.

INSKEEP: Kat, thanks so much for your reporting. Really appreciate it.

LONSDORF: Thanks, Steve.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Kat Lonsdorf. She is currently in Northern Israel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.