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Thousands of mourners attended funeral ceremonies on Sunday for the 12 children and teenagers killed by a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as Israel vowed swift retaliation against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams, the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since Hamas' Oct. 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza, which has since spread to several fronts and now risks spilling into a wider regional conflict.
Israeli jets hit targets in southern Lebanon overnight but a stronger response was expected following the return of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from his U.S. visit and a meeting of the security cabinet expected at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT).
In the meantime, families gathered for funerals in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, territory captured from Syria by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move not recognised by most countries.
Mourners, many in traditional high white and red Druze headwear, surrounded the caskets as they were carried through the crowds.
"We are in difficult moments, a heavy tragedy, a dark day has come to Majdal Shams," said Dolan Abu Saleh, head of the Majdal Shams local council in comments broadcast on Israeli television.
Hezbollah initially had announced it fired rockets at Israeli military sites in the Golan heights, but denied involvement in the attack on Majdal Shams, saying it had "absolutely nothing to do with the incident, and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard."
However Israel, which said the rocket launch was carried out from an area located north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon, has placed the blame squarely on the Iranian-backed group, saying Hezbollah was "unequivocally responsible" for the deaths of the children as they were playing football.
"The rocket that murdered our boys and girls was an Iranian rocket and Hezbollah is the only terror organization which has those in its arsenal," Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Israeli forces have been exchanging fire for months with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon but both sides have appeared to be avoiding an escalation that could lead to an all-out war, potentially dragging in other powers including the United States and Iran.
