Rocket event in Israel on Sat 27th July 2024

Following a direct hit in the area of Majdal Shams, a large Druze town, on Saturday evening, ten were killed, among them children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 20. Over 34 were wounded to varying degrees and were transported to hospitals by Magen David Adom teams and IDF helicopters, MDA said in a statement.

The rocket hit a soccer field near a playground.

According to an IDF situational assessment and IDF intelligence, the rocket launch toward Majdal Shams was carried out by Hezbollah. A senior official from Hezbollah, Mohammad Afif, told Reuters on Saturday that the group was not responsible for the strike, although later IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated that the terror organization was lying.

Upon arrival at the scene, senior MDA medic Idan Avshalom stated, "We arrived at the soccer field and saw destruction and items on fire. Victims were lying on the grass, and the scenes were difficult. We immediately began triaging the injured. Some of the injured were taken to local clinics, and our teams were directed to those clinics as well. During the incident, there were additional alerts, and medical treatment for the injured is still ongoing."

The Chief of the General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Northern Command's Commanding Officer, the Operations Directorate Head, the Israel Air Force Head, and other members of the General Staff Forum are currently conducting a situational assessment of the incident.

In addition, the Education Ministry in the North opened a situation room to assess the events, accompanied by the authorities, families, and school personnel.

Alarms were activated in the Majdal Shams area in the Northern Galilee at 6:18 p.m. 

Moshe Davidovitch, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council and chairman of the Confrontation Line Forum, responded to the incident, "I share the sorrow of the leadership of the Majdal Shams local council over the tragic harm to innocent residents and send speedy recovery wishes to the injured."

"I am outraged! It seems that until the rockets land in Caesarea, the Prime Minister and cabinet members will continue their policy of ignoring the north. I call on the government to wake up from its slumber and act immediately!" he declared.

The Israel Police reported that they are dealing with a number of scenes where shrapnel fell in the North of the Golan directly after initial reports of the incident.

Police and Northern District police detectives isolated the crash scene and are searching for additional remains to remove further risk to the public.