By Ronny Reyes | New York Post
Israel says it has proof the rocket that killed 12 kids playing on a soccer field was fired by Hamas using an Iranian-made weapon, with US officials agreeing that the terrorists were behind the attack.
The Israel Defense Forces published photos Sunday linking the shrapnel found at the deadly rocket strike in the occupied Golan Heights to an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket.
The Israeli military claims the rocket fired Saturday matches key aspects of the Falaq-1, including weight and range, and notes that the rocket is exclusively used by Hezbollah.
The Israeli military tracked the rocket’s flight path to southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah operates.X/@idfonline
The IDF also published a photo of the alleged flight path of the rocket, showing its route from southern Lebanon to Israel’s city of Majdal Shams.
Hezbollah had touted that one of its Falaq rockets struck an IDF base near Majdal Shams on Saturday but then denied involvement following reports of civilian casualties.
The Iran-backed terror group said it “firmly denies” allegations that it was behind the deadly playground rocket attack that also left at least 40 other people injured.
US officials have been quick to back up Israel’s allegations, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying all signs point to Hezbollah as the perpetrators.
“Every indication is that indeed the rocket was from Hezbollah,” he said in a statement issued Sunday while he attends a Tokyo conference.
“We stand by Israel’s right to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks.”
US National Security Council rep Adrienne Watson echoed Blinken’s assertion.
“It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control,” Watson said, referring to Hezbollah, in a statement.
“Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad and unwavering against all Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah,” she added.
Israel fired retaliatory strikes Sunday against Hezbollah’s weapons cache and infrastructure, stoking fears that an all-out war along the northern border is now inevitable.
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading blows since the terrorist group began its assaults on Israel on Oct. 8 in solidarity with the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
Blinken, who has previously expressed worries over a two-front war that could destabilize the Middle East, said it is crucial for the world to stop such a widened conflict from erupting, pointing to ongoing cease-fire negotiations in Gaza as the way to move forward.
“One of the reasons that we’re continuing to work so hard for a ceasefire in Gaza is not just for Gaza, but also so that we can [advance] an opportunity to bring calm, lasting calm, across the blue line between Israel and Lebanon,” Blinken said.203
“It’s so important that we help defuse that conflict, not only prevent it from escalating, prevent it from spreading, but to defuse it because so many people in both countries, in both Israel and Lebanon, who’ve been displaced from their homes,” he added.
With Post wires