Golan Heights attack raises concerns of war between Israel and Hezbollah

• U.S. officials are also concerned that without a ceasefire in Gaza, a war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group is becoming more likely, which would exacerbate the regional crisis and draw the U.S. deeper into the conflict.
• "What happened today could be the trigger we have been worried about and tried to avoid for 10 months," a U.S. official told Axios.

Driving the news: The IDF said twelve people were killed and more than 30 were wounded when a rocket exploded in a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights.

• IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Hezbollah was responsible for the attack.
• Hezbollah denied it fired the rocket and said it had no connection to the incident.

Hagari called it the "most serious targeting" of Israeli civilians since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

• An IDF official told reporters in a briefing that Hezbollah fired a rocket with an unusually large warhead in retaliation for an Israeli strike earlier on Saturday that killed four members of the Lebanese militant group.
• Hagari said it was an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket with a 100-pound warhead and that only Hezbollah holds such rockets in Lebanon. A U.S. official said the U.S. assessment is that the rocket was fired by Hezbollah.
• Hezbollah officials told the UN the incident was the result of an Israeli anti-rocket interceptor hitting the soccer field, a U.S. official said. The IDF denied that was what happened.
• Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz told Axios "the Hezbollah attack crossed all red lines and the response will be accordingly."

The latest: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, and said Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for the attack, the Prime Minister's office said.

• The Israeli security cabinet will convene on Sunday to discuss the response to the attack.
• Israeli law requires the security cabinet to approve military operations that could lead to war.

Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikatti condemned "all acts of violence and aggression against all civilians" and called for an immediate halt to violence.

• "Targeting civilians is a flagrant violation of international law," he said.

President Biden's advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein spoke to Israeli and Lebanese officials after the rocket attack.

• Hochstein expressed concern about the situation to Lebanon's Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.
• Jumblatt said in a statement that he told Hochstein the U.S. needs to stop the Israeli aggression against Lebanon and Gaza.
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday the U.S. assesses Hezbollah fired the rocket and said the Biden administration is trying to prevent further escalation.

State of play: The incident happened amid intense negotiations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his team with White House officials over the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal proposal.

• Netanyahu's office said he will depart Washington this evening, hours earlier than planned.
• UNIFIL Commander is in touch with Israel and Lebanon to decrease tensions in the area, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force said.

What they're saying: A White House National Security Council spokesperson condemned the attack as "horrific."

• "Our hearts go out to the families of those who lost loved ones today, and we are praying for a speedy recovery for those who have been injured," the spokesperson added.
• "Israel continues to face severe threats to its security, as the world saw today, and the United States will continue to support efforts to end these terrible attacks along the Blue Line, which must be a top priority.
• "Our support for Israel's security is iron-clad and unwavering against all Iranian backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah."

Editor's note: This story has been updated with details throughout.