Israel, Hezbollah trade retaliatory strikes along border with Lebanon after Golan attack

The Israeli Defense Forces on Sunday said it struck several Hezbollah targets deep in Lebanon overnight following a suspected Hezbolalh rocket strike in the Golan Heights that killed 12 children.

Hezbollah confirmed it had launched rockets into the Golan Heights — a region of Syria occupied by Israel — but denied responsibility for the strike on a soccer pitch where children had been playing.

While the overnight strikes by Israel likely fall short of being the trigger to start an out-right war with Hezbollah, analysts said, they almost certainly will raise tensions in the fractious region, with Iran on Sunday warning Israel against “any new adventures” in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut his US visit short to travel back to Israel to meet with his security cabinet on Sunday.