2024 attack on Majdal Shams, Golan Heights
The Majdal Shams attack, took place on 27 July 2024, when a rocket hit a football pitch in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The resulting blast killed 12 Syrian children belonging to the Druze community and injured at least 42 others, with most of the victims being between the ages of 10 and 16.
Israel blamed Hezbollah for carrying out the attack with an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket equipped with a 53-kilogram warhead. Hezbollah said it had targeted a nearby military base and that the football pitch was hit by an errant Israeli Iron Dome air defence projectile. Western sources dismissed this claim, citing expert opinion that the rocket had been fired by Hezbollah or another militant group in Lebanon.
Local authorities denied that the children were Israeli, and local residents protested the attendance of Israeli ministers at the funeral for reasons ranging from opposition to politicization of the tragedy to anger at the Israeli government's perceived neglect of their safety.
The attack occurred amid the Israel–Hezbollah conflict that has been ongoing since 8 October 2023, a regular exchange of attacks that began following the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war. Following the attack, Israel assassinated Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
Background.
Majdal Shams.
Majdal Shams is a predominantly Druze town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, The Golan Heights are a rocky plateau in the Levant region of Western Asia that was captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community, with the exception of Israel and the United States, considers the Golan Heights to be Syrian territory held by Israel under military occupation.
Israel–Hezbollah conflict.
Following the 7 October attack, Hezbollah joined the conflict the next day, launching guided rockets and drone attacks at Israeli communities and military installations in Galilee and the Golan Heights. This Israel–Hezbollah conflict has displaced entire communities in Israel and Lebanon, with significant damage to buildings and land along the border. As of 5 July 2024, Israel reports having killed approximately 366 Hezbollah operatives with over 100 Lebanese civilians confirmed killed. According to the UN, over 90,000 people in Lebanon have been forced to flee their homes, while in Israel, 60,000 civilians have evacuated. Israel and Hezbollah have maintained their attacks at a level that causes significant harm without escalating into a full-scale war. From 7 October 2023 to 21 June 2024, Israel attacked Lebanon 6,124 times. Hezbollah and other Lebanese forces attacked Israel 1,258 times.
Hezbollah employed advanced Iranian-origin missiles, including the Falaq-1 rocket system, in its attacks against Israel. Following a similar attack in June which injured civilians on a soccer field in the Druze town of Hurfeish, Israel said it targeted military sites deep within Lebanon in response.
Attack.
Early in the morning, Hezbollah took responsibility for multiple attacks including one with a Falaq-type rocket on the military headquarters of the Hermon Brigade, which was 3 km from the football pitch. At 6:18 pm, alarms sounded in Majdal Shams. A projectile then hit and exploded at a soccer field in the town, located near a playground. According to initial reports, eleven people were wounded, with five in critical condition and six in serious condition. Emergency services, including Magen David Adom (MDA), treated the critically injured, aged between 10 and 20, some of whom were transferred to local clinics. A senior MDA paramedic described the scene as one of destruction with victims lying on the grass.
According to residents, the children were playing soccer during the attack and while the warning siren activated, it was only a few seconds before the rocket hit the field leaving no time to seek shelter.
Victims.
Twelve children, ranging in age between ten and sixteen years old, were killed in the attack. At least 42 others were injured. None of the 12 children and teens killed had Israeli citizenship. Although accepting Israeli citizenship is an option available for Druze in the Golan Heights, at the time of the attack, about 75% of the population of Majdal Shams had rejected Israeli citizenship and identified as Syrian.
Analysis.
The IDF stated that they had performed an assessment and concluded that Hezbollah was responsible for the rocket attack. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari stated that the type of rocket used was an Iranian-made Falaq-1, carrying a 50 kg warhead, which has previously been used by Hezbollah, the only Iranian proxy to possess it. The Israeli army posted pictures of Falaq-1 shrapnel that it said was found at the scene of the attack, but with no apparent pictures of the shrapnel in situ at the blast site.
A Hezbollah spokesperson, Mohammad Afif, later said that the group was not responsible for the attack on Majdal Shams. instead stating it was caused by an Israeli Iron Dome projectile launched in the course of countering Hezbollah rocket fire aiming for Israeli military sites. Iranian and Qatari state media claimed there were reports that an Iron Dome interceptor was to blame. Additionally, "Al-Mayadeen", a Lebanese outlet with close ties to Hezbollah, stated that the blast site was inconsistent with a Falaq-1, which it said would have left a larger impact crater; subsequent to the report, the Israeli government voted to ban "Al-Mayadeen" from operating inside Israel.
According to US intelligence, there were no doubts that Hezbollah was responsible but it was not certain if Hezbollah intentionally targeted the site or misfired.
Israeli authorities have characterized it as the deadliest attack on their civilians since the 7 October attacks. Israeli Police and Northern District detectives secured the crash site to eliminate any further risk to the public and conducted a search for additional remains.
Colonel Avichay Adraee, the IDF's Arabic-language spokesman, said the rocket attack was launched by Ali Muhammad Yahya, who is a commander at a rocket launching site in Chebaa. Daniel Sobelman from Harvard Kennedy School highlighted that the strike was "the most serious in Israel in nine months of fighting between the country and militants in Lebanon." The "Associated Press" described the civilian death toll as the highest in Israel since Hamas’ October 7 attack, and that it was unclear what Hezbollah, who made a rare denial of the attack, would have gained from attacking Druze in Golan who see themselves as Syrian citizens, as it would hurt their influence in Lebanon.
The "Associated Press" reported that rocket sirens sounded less than a minute before the explosion, which left a crater 2 meters wide. Irregularly-shaped shrapnel recovered from the children's bodies indicated that the strike was not caused by a malfunctioning air defense missile. "Associated Press" reporters found no ordinance debris at the site, and were unable to verify the provenance of rocket fragments in images released by Israel, however, weapons experts consulted by the "Associated Press" said the evidence suggests a rocket from Lebanon struck the field. Richard Weir from Human Rights Watch noted that the damage is "consistent with that of a rocket artillery of the type and size of the Falaq", an Iranian-made rocket used by Hezbollah, adding it could have been a missile that overshot its target Israeli military position on Mount Hermon, either due to human error or mechanical fault. Chris Cobb-Smith observed that the shape of the crater and the damage direction imply the rocket came from the north. He also stated that it was impossible to prove who was responsible without independent verification of the weapon's remains.
Dr. Abed Kanaaneh, from the Moshe Dayan Center said: "The occupied Golan Heights were targeted by Hezbollah that day with 100 rockets, so it is plausible that one of them hit the village of Majdal Shams. The Druze were, of course, not the target, but one of these missiles could have missed its shot and caused the catastrophe."
Aftermath.
Following the attack, Israel's military stated that it had launched strikes against Hezbollah weapon storage and infrastructure in Lebanon, specifically in the areas of Chabriha, Burj el-Shemali, Beqaa, Kafr Kila, Khiam, Rab El Thalathine, and Tayr Harfa. The IDF also said that it struck the launch site of the projectile with artillery.
28 July.
On 28 July, Lebanon's foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, said that the Lebanese government had requested that the US urge Israel to show restraint, and added that the US had also asked Lebanon to relay a message to Hezbollah to exercise restraint. Hezbollah, reported to be on high alert, preemptively evacuated key sites in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley in anticipation of a possible Israeli response.
The IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, visited Majdal Shams to assess the situation and discuss with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the leader of the Druze community in Israel.
A spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that the situation could be resolved without broader conflict if Hezbollah complied with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which was intended to end the 2006 Lebanon War and required that they withdraw behind the Litani River.
Over 300,000 shekels were raised on Sunday by 2,065 people for families in Majdal Shams who lost children in a rocket attack. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who came to visit the site of the attack, was berated by local residents who called him a "criminal" and a "murderer". Some Druze residents of the Golan Heights called on Israel to take decisive action against Hezbollah.
29 July.
On 29 July, local residents issued a statement were they rejected any retaliation.
Israeli authorities confirmed the death of 11-year-old Jivara Ibrahim Ibrahim, the 12th victim of the attack. Ibrahim had been missing for over 24 hours following the attack, and his death was confirmed through DNA testing of evidence from the scene. His family and local residents had been searching for him and providing DNA samples to hospitals.
Flights to and from Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport faced significant cancellations and delays. Major airlines, including Air France, Lufthansa, and Swiss, suspended flights due to security concerns. The rocket strike has heightened fears of a broader conflict, as Hezbollah denied responsibility. Beirut airport's operations were further affected by insurance-related issues and increased cross-border hostilities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site of the attack and was met with 200 protestors yelling "He is the enemy of all of us" and "murderer". Some of the protestors held up signs calling Netanyahu a "war criminal". A viral post titled "All Eyes on Majdal Shams" depicted children in a soccer field through an AI-generated image, similar to the "All Eyes on Rafah" campaign. The image was shared by Israeli Jews and Arabs.
Germany and Norway have advised their citizens to leave Lebanon, while the US and Denmark have reiterated their recommendations against travel to the country.
30 July.
A Hezbollah rocket attack killed one Israeli citizen in kibbutz HaGoshrim and wounded three more.
On the evening of 30 July Israel retaliated with a UAV strike on Beirut, targeting Fuad Shukr (also known as Al-Hajj Mohsen), a senior adviser to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel also killed 3 civilians, including two children, and wounded 80 others in the attack. Shukr was previously named by the IDF as a commander of the group's precision missile project. He was also wanted by the United States for his involvement in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings.
The Jewish Agency for Israel, Jewish Federations of North America, and Keren Hayesod announced an emergency aid donation of 600,000 NIS to Majdal Shams on 31 July, stating, "We see the Druze community as family."
In the Quneitra Governorate, in southern Syria, a funeral gathering was held for the victims of the attack.
Further developments.
Hezbollah vowed to retaliate for the July 30 assassination of Fuad Shukr. On August 25, Israel partially thwarted what Hezbollah characterzied as "the first phase" of the retaliation with a preemptive strike against Hezbollah's launch sites.
On October 2, 2024 Israel killed Khader Shahabiya in an airstrike. Israel claimed that Shahabiya was behind the attack in Majdal Shams as well as other attacks in the Mount Dov region.
Reactions.
Druze communities.
 The attack provoked widespread outrage among Druze in Israel, Lebanon and Syria.
Golan Heights.
The Druze community in the Golan Heights sent a letter to the Israeli government asking that no government ministers attend the funeral. The funeral was kept non-political, with no national flags, and a Druze resident stated "Many Druze feel angry and do not want to be fuel in this war for any side". A local paramedic stated "for sure, it was not targeting Majdal Shams. There are many Israeli military bases around the town. I expect this threat was heading their way".
In Majdal Shams, some residents