Live updates: Israel vows retaliation after Golan Heights attack, blames Hezbollah

Back in May, Amos Hochstein, US President Joe Biden’s man to curb tensions between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, spoke in a webinar.

The equivalent of that bus came on Saturday night in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, when a rocket that Israel said was fired by Hezbollah struck a soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, killing 12 children. Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the attack.

Will Hochstein’s fears come true? If Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz is to be believed, that is likely to be the case.

The United States has sanctioned retaliation to some extent.

The reaction so far has been cautious.

But during a visit to Majdal Shams on Saturday, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promised a forceful response.

“Hezbollah is responsible for this and it will pay the price,” Gallant said. In an earlier statement from his office, he said:

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