Hezbollah 'may just accept' Israeli retaliation after 12 children killed in strike

ITV News' Senior International Correspondent John Irvine reports from Tel Aviv

Every time I drive through the Druze village of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights I could swear I’m in Lebanon or Syria.

It’s not surprising, given that the largest Druze communities are in nearby southern Lebanon and southern Syria. 

That fact puts Majdal Shams top of the list of the places Hezbollah should never hit during its exchanges of fire with Israel. 

The killing on the Israeli side of the border of 12 young blood brothers and sisters of the Lebanese Druze is a huge embarrassment for the Iranian-backed militants.

Hezbollah’s vehement denials of responsibility ring somewhat hollow given that the IDF have named the rocket that was used and the commander who gave the order to fire it. 

Washington has also gone public with its conclusion that Hezbollah is responsible.

The Iranian-backed militant group is desperately trying to distance itself from a child massacre that doesn’t chime with the resistance message it wants to convey.

The Israelis will probably hit back hard, but if they stick to military targets and don’t strike Beirut then Hezbollah may just accept their punishment without cranking things up.

On the other hand, one mistake can lead to another and it won’t take much to turn regular exchanges of fire into an all-out war that plunges the region deeper into the mire.

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