On Saturday, a rocket slammed into a soccer field where dozens of children and teens were playing in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, about 12 kilometers (7 miles) south of Lebanon and next to the Syrian border. Twelve were killed and 20 others wounded, according to the Israeli military.
“I feel darkness inside and out. Nothing like this happened here,” resident Anan Abu Saleh said. “There’s no way to explain this. I saw children, I don’t want to say what I saw, but it’s horrible, really horrible. We need more security.” On Sunday, the coffins passed through a crowd of thousands. Photos of the youth were displayed at a roundabout as residents lit candles at dusk.
The Israeli military said it was investigating why the rocket wasn’t intercepted and questioned whether it would have been possible due to its short journey and short reaction time. A bomb shelter was next to the blackened field, steps away.
The Druze are a religious sect that began as an offshoot of Shiite Islam and has communities in Israel, Syria and Lebanon. There are about 25,000 Druze in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, according to Yusri Hazran of the Hebrew University.
The Druze are considered among Israel’s most loyal citizens, although those in the Golan Heights have a more fraught relationship with authorities. Israel captured the Golan, a strategic plateau, from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in 1981. Much of the international community considers the area to be occupied territory. While Druze leaders there profess allegiance to Syria, relations with Israel are normally good.
“Big anger, big, big. I have no feelings that I can explain to you,” said Hassan Shakir, a Majdal Shams resident.
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