Golan Heights strike: Thousands mourn children killed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed that Hezbollah would “pay a heavy price”, arrived in Israel on Sunday after cutting short his trip to the US. He planned to hold a meeting with his military chiefs to assess the situation and approve operational plans.

Hezbollah denied it had anything to do with the strike, but had earlier on Saturday claimed responsibility for four other attacks, including one on a military base around 3km (2 miles) away.

At a funeral in Majdal Shams on Sunday, weeping men wearing traditional red-topped white hats carried 10 of the white-covered caskets through packed streets, AFP reported. Women dressed in black abaya robes cried as they laid flowers on the caskets. Some mourners carried large photos of the dead children.

Fadi Mahmud, 48, told AFP that it was the first time Majdal Shams had experienced such a loss during the war.

“Our community is very close-knit. These children are like children of everybody in the village,” he was reported as saying.

Anger among the community also boiled over at the funeral, with some directing their rage at Israeli government officials who attended, the Times of Israel reported.

“Now you come here? Ten months you didn’t come!” a man wearing a military uniform was reported as shouting at Housing Minister Nir Barkat and Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman. His comments were met with applause.

“We’re tired of your promises!” another person reportedly yelled at Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

In a video posted on social media, hecklers surrounded Mr Smotrich, cursing and saying “we don’t want him!”, according to a Times of Israel translation.

Israeli media reported that a leader of the Druze community had reportedly asked in a letter that government ministers not attend the funeral to avoid turning the tragedy into a “political event”.