Some Lebanon flights halted as Israeli leaders consider retaliation against Hezbollah for Golan strike

Lufthansa and Air France said Monday that they were suspending flights to Beirut several days after a rocket strike killed at least 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. The U.S. and Israel have blamed the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah for the attack, though it has denied responsibility. 

Israel’s security cabinet on Sunday gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister authorization to determine how and when Israel would retaliate.

The Lufthansa suspension was set to last until Aug. 5, while the Air France suspension was announced for Monday and Tuesday, the AFP news agency reported.

While the group has denied any involvement in Saturday’s deadly rocket strike, a Hezbollah official told The Associated Press the group had started moving precision-guided missiles to use if needed.

Villagers in Majdal Shams, where the rocket struck children playing on a soccer field, gathered in their thousands Monday to mourn the young victims.

“The whole scene was truly chaotic,” a paramedic who was among the first to reach the site on Saturday told CBS News. “People screaming, searching for their children, children lying on the floor just here and, badly, badly injured”

“We found only dead kids,” another paramedic said. “It was really hard to watch. I’ve never seen kids like that. And I’ve seen dead bodies, but not like that.”

Hezbollah rockets have struck northern Israel since Israel’s war with the group’s Hamas allies started on Oct. 7, and Israel has hit targets in southern Lebanon on an almost daily basis. Tens of thousands of people from border communities in both countries have been forced to flee their homes.

The incident has sharply increased concern that the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas could escalate into a wider regional conflict, drawing in other Iran proxy groups like Hezbollah. The U.S. called for restraint over the weekend, and White House officials have made calls since the attack to try to contain Israel’s response to it.

Two Israeli officials told the Reuters news agency on Monday that Israel wanted to hurt Hezbollah, but not push the region into an all-out war.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on “Face the Nation” on Sunday that Israel had a right to defend itself, but “I don’t think anyone wants a wider war. So I hope there are moves to de-escalate.”