Israel promises to hit back after 12 children killed in Golan Heights attack

Officials are warning that the Middle East could face a "catastrophe beyond belief" if Israel launches a full-scale offensive against Hezbollah. 

Israel says the Lebanon-based group killed 12 children during a rocket attack in the occupied Golan Heights. The rocket hit a football pitch near Majdal Shams on Saturday evening. 

The foreign ministry released a statement, saying "the rocket that murdered our boys and girls was an Iranian rocket and Hezbollah is the only organization which has those in its arsenal."

Hezbollah has slammed the claim they were responsible for the attack, saying it had "absolutely nothing to do with the incident."

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant visited the area after the attack, saying "We will hit Hezbollah hard." 

Security sources in Lebanon say Israel launched a series of aerial attacks on the southern part of the country on Saturday night. The Israeli military says it hit Hezbollah targets overnight, but any large-scale offensive will need approval by the cabinet. 

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cut short his trip to the United States. Netanyahu returned home on Sunday before meeting with senior cabinet ministers.

The U.S. has condemned the attack, but did not directly accuse Hezbollah. The White House said its support for Israel's security was iron-clad and that it would "continue to support efforts to end these terrible attacks along the Blue Line" - a reference to the territory around the Israel-Lebanon border. 

The United Nations has also spoken out. The head of a U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon called for restraint along the border, saying the risk of a wider conflict was growing. "This could ignite a wider conflagration," said UNIFIL force commander Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro. "And that would engulf the entire region in a catastrophe beyond belief."

Hezbollah and Israel have traded rocket strikes since Hamas killed more than 1,000 Israelis on October 7. Israel's attacks on Lebanon have killed around 350 Hezbollah soldiers and over 100 civilians. 

But the battle with Hezbollah is just one of several conflicts that Netanyahu's government has to manage. Houthi forces have launched attacks from Yemen, while the Lebanese Sunni group, Jama'a Islamiya, has also fired rockets towards Israeli targets. Hamas is fighting Israel in Gaza, but has used Lebanese territory for rocket attacks into northern Israel.  

The Israeli military has managed to continue its offensive in Gaza even though it's facing war on several fronts. But the stakes are high. Netanyahu issued a warning in June, telling Israeli lawmakers that Iran was determined to destroy their country.  

Iran's foreign ministry issued a warning of its own on Sunday, saying Israel must avoid a "new adventure" in Lebanon. 

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