Israel’s security cabinet authorized its leaders to decide on the nature and the timing of a significant military response to a deadly rocket attack from Lebanon on Saturday, which killed 12 children and teenagers in a Druse Arab village in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
“Our response is coming, and it will be severe,” Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said yesterday. For months, Israel has been firing back at sites in Lebanon used by Hezbollah to launch rockets and missiles across the border, as well as killing Hezbollah commanders and fighters.
Analysis: Experts said Hezbollah had most likely been aiming at a nearby army base and had not intentionally targeted the village, but its use of inaccurate rockets in an area dotted with civilian communities could tip the balance toward all-out war.
War in Gaza: Negotiations for a truce remained stalled, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other. And in the U.S., junior political aides started an anonymous website criticizing U.S. policy on Israel and the war.
Other news: The Israeli military detained nine reservists over suspected sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee. Civilians supporting the reservists briefly broke into a military base in protest.
