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The U.S. is working to stave off what could be a major cross-border war and regional conflagration.

By Ali Rizk, Responsible Statecraft

A missile strike in the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has led to the death of 12 civilians and could be the match that finally blows up the tensions between Hezbollah and Israel into a full-on war.

Israel charged the Lebanese Hezbollah with responsibility for the strike, the deadliest incident on the Israeli Northern Front since the onset of the latest round of hostilities last October.

hezbollah fighters sit with rockets

“We are able to say that it is a Falaq rocket with a 53-kilogram warhead” said the Israeli army’s chief of staff Herzi Halevi, adding “This is a Hezbollah rocket”.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, denied any involvement in the incident. Reports indicate that the militant group acknowledged it launched Falaq rockets in the area on Saturday, but at Israeli military targets and not the soccer field. According to Axios, Hezbollah officials told the UN that an Israeli rocket interceptor had struck the soccer field.

While the Golan Heights has been subject to numerous attacks by Hezbollah in the current conflict, the targeting of civilians in such a manner would mark a dramatic departure from its modus operandi.

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Militarism and Foreign Policy