VFI News 12 Dead Children and Young Adults in Latest Hezbollah Attack; Retaliation Seems Imminent

12 Dead Children and Young Adults in Latest Hezbollah Attack; Retaliation Seems Imminent . . .

At least 12 people — mostly children and young adults between the ages of 10 and 20 — were killed on Saturday, July 27, when a Hezbollah rocket struck a soccer field in Israel-controlled Golan Heights in the deadliest attack on the Jewish state since the Oct. 7 massacre that set off its war with Hamas.

The victims, whose names were allowed to be published are: Fajr Laith Abu Saleh (16), Amir Rabi Abu Saleh (16), Hazem Akram Abu Saleh (15), John Wadie Ibrahim (13), Azal Nashat Ayub (12), Finis Adham Safadi (11), Yazan Naif Abu Saleh (12), Alma Ayman Fakhr al-Din (11), Naji Taher Halabi (11), Millar Maadad al-Shaar (10) and Nazem Fakher Saeb.

The rocket fired by the Lebanese terrorist group targeted the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams, officials said, adding that such an escalation could ramp up the ongoing war. Up to 40 people were reported injured in the attack, with a handful listed in critical condition.

Israeli leadership immediately gathered to weigh its response. Foreign Minister Israel Katz discussed the deadly attack with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and declared that “Hezbollah crossed all red lines” and the Jewish state was now “facing an all-out war” with the Lebanese terrorists.

“I have no doubt that we’ll pay a cost,” Katz said, adding Hezbollah will pay a higher toll for its actions. When Israel does retaliate, Katz claims it would have the “full backing” of the United States and Europe.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah denied carrying out the attack, which unfolded hours after an Israeli airstrike on the town of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon — about 10 miles away from Majdal Shams — killed four members of the terrorist sect. (NYP / VFI News) 

“Lord, we fervently pray for the families of the children and young adults who were killed during the Hezbollah attack. We pray in Yeshua’s name that they will feel comforted by You. Please, take them in Your loving Fatherly embrace and heal their pain. We send them our sincerest condolences and pray that they will know no more sorrow. We pray that You help our defense forces dismantle this terror group so that there is no more bloodshed of civilians and that You heal all the injured citizens. May You protect all Your children and guide them towards safety according to Your perfect Will in Heaven.”

The articles included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Vision for Israel. We try to provide accurate reporting on news pertinent to Israel, the Middle East, the diaspora, and Jewish issues around the world—and we hope that you find it both informative and useful for intercessory prayer.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press conference from the scene of the attack in the Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams that he identified the rocket that struck the soccer field as an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket.

“A Falaq-1 rocket struck here in the soccer field, it is an Iranian rocket, manufactured in Iran, a rocket with a warhead of over 50 kilograms of explosives,” he said in a press conference.

“The forensic findings at the scene point to this rocket. Falaq-1 is only in use by the Hezbollah terror group, which carried out this attack from Chebaa,” Hagari added. Hezbollah in an earlier statement said it fired one Falaq rocket at an Israeli army base just north of Majdal Shams, although it has denied attacking the town.

In addition, Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, revealed the name of the Hezbollah commander who directed the deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams.

He said the attack was directed by Ali Muhammad Yahya, who is the commander of a rocket launching site in the Chebaa area in southern Lebanon. (TOI / VFI News)

“No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.” - Psalm 33:16-19

After the tragic incident that happened on Saturday, July 27, in Majdal Shams, where 12 children and young adults between the ages 10 and 20 were killed by a direct hit of a Hezbollah rocket, Lebanon is anxiously preparing for a possible Israeli retaliation.

Diplomatic and intelligence sources report high alert on the Lebanese side, with terror groups affiliated with Hezbollah and Iran evacuating positions along the Syrian-Lebanese border.

The Syrian Observatory issued a statement that read, “Groups loyal to Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah are evacuating their points south of Damascus, Quneitra, and West Kalmon in anticipation of Israeli attacks.”

Additionally, Lebanese media stated that “Israel has decided to attack Lebanon, and the matter is already finalized.” “Now the parties are working so that the Israeli response will be limited in size and location, and not in the big cities and especially not in Beirut, so as not to drag Hezbollah into reacting with greater force.”

As of Sunday evening, following the cabinet meeting, the cabinet authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to make decisions regarding Israel’s response in Lebanon. Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir abstained.

The US and global community have attempted to diffuse tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border, including by propelling a Gaza ceasefire. A Gaza ceasefire is the best way to diffuse Israeli-Hezbollah violence, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, in the aftermath of the deadly strike. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we pray that You shield us from all the enemies that surround us. You are our rock, our fortress, our refuge and You never forsake Your children. We trust Your love and faithfulness and we pray that Your Will be done at all times. We pray in Yeshua’s name that You will cause our enemies to make peace with us unconditionally and that You will allow us to live in safety in the land You have given us.”

The United States and France scrambled on Sunday, July 28, to prevent the sparking of a third Lebanon war after the latest Hezbollah attack. Israel stood poised to respond militarily.

“We have been in continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since the horrific attack yesterday,” US National Security Council spokesperson Adriane Watson stated. The United States “is working on a diplomatic solution along the Blue Line that will end all attacks once and for all and allow citizens on both sides of the border to return safely to their homes.”

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with both Prime Ministers, Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Najib Makati of Lebanon. Macron told Netanyahu that France was “fully committed to doing everything possible to avoid a new escalation in the region by sending messages to all parties to the conflict.”

He also reiterated the need to reach a diplomatic solution to the issue of the Blue Line, based on [United Nations Security Council] Resolution 1701 and his determination to contribute to it.

The Lebanese government has asked the US to urge restraint from Israel, Lebanon’s foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib told British media. Bou Habib said the US had asked Lebanon’s government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well. (JPost / VFI News)

 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” - Matthew 5:9

This compelling passage is from Isaiah 61:10a, communicating thanks to a merciful God, for His salvific work. It reads: “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness...” Let this be a meditative reminder to you of all the blessings He bestows upon His beloved children.

The National Insurance Institute (NII) held a situational assessment on Sunday morning, July 28, to prepare to support the bereaved families of the 12 children and young adults killed by Hezbollah’s attack on Majdal Shams on Saturday, the institute said.

The NII is charged with caring for civilians harmed in terrorist attacks and accompanying them from the moment of the event, it added.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, some 860 civilians have been killed, 53 of them children, the NII reported Sunday.

The Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry fortified the social worker department in Majdal Shams to enable it to better care for the families of the children, the ministry said Sunday.

Following Saturday evening, the ministry has been in touch with welfare officials in Majdal Shams and Ein Qiniyye, they added. After finding out about the attack, “we have helped them make order in the chaos that was created,” said Shlomo Cohen, the director of the northern region at the Welfare Ministry. (JPost / VFI News)

“Our Heavenly Father, we pray for all the families that have lost their beloved members in the war with Hamas. We pray that You provide them with comfort and Your peace that surpasses all understanding. We pray in Yeshua’s name that You heal their broken hearts and strengthen their spirit. May You protect Your children during this turbulent time and prevent more bloodshed in our land.”

Jerusalem and Ankara traded sharp barbs on Sunday, July 28, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeming to threaten military action against Israel as tensions heated up between the Jewish state and the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah.

Israel in turn warned that his fate could become akin to that of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was executed by hanging. “Erdogan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein by threatening to attack Israel. He should remember what happened there and how it ended,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in which he linked a photograph of the two men.

He spoke up after Erdogan suggested that Turkey might enter Israel as it had done in the past in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, though he did not spell out what sort of intervention he was suggesting.

Erdogan, who has been a fierce critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas, started discussing that war during a speech praising his country’s defense industry. “We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine.”

“Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,” Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling AK Party in his hometown of Rize. “There is no reason why we cannot do this... We must be strong so that we can take these steps,” Erdogan added in the televised address. (JPost / VFI News)

“Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.” - Psalm 27:3

Three Palestinian migrants who crossed into the United States illegally through the southern border were detained after they were found to have terrorist ties, according to media reports.

Federal law enforcement sources told American media that one of the migrants had “salacious photos” on their phone, including an image of a masked man holding an AK-47 rifle. In addition to the Palestinians, one migrant from Turkey is suspected of having ties to terror groups.

It’s unclear which terrorist organization the migrants were allegedly affiliated with. The migrants were among a larger group who turned themselves in to border agents at the San Diego Sector.

They were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force was investigating their cases. Border agents at the San Diego Sector have been overwhelmed but don't have access to criminal databases in other countries to properly vet migrants, said one unidentified agent who spoke to an American news outlet on the condition of anonymity.

“Knowing who these guys are, we have, like, no access to anything international,” the agent said. “I wanted to get into Border Patrol and protect from terrorists. And it’s like, well, I probably let terrorists in the country.” (FN / VFI News)

A long-lost altar dating from the times of the Crusades was discovered hidden in plain sight by archaeologists at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem — one of the holiest sites in Christianity, where Yeshua is believed to have risen from the dead.

The stunning discovery was first made when construction workers overturned a massive stone slab leaning against a wall in the church that had been sitting there for an unknown amount of time, according to the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

The several-ton hunk of marble was in a publicly accessible corridor in the rear of the church and was even covered in graffiti. The other side of the stone was magnificently decorated and identified the slab as the front panel of the altar used by Crusaders in the Middle Ages, from when it was consecrated in 1149 until it vanished from history when a massive fire destroyed part of the church hundreds of years later.

“We know of pilgrim accounts from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries about a magnificent marble altar in Jerusalem,” said Ilya Berkovich, historian at the Institute for Habsburg and Balkan Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

“In 1808, there was a major fire in the Romanesque part of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” says Berkovich. “Since then, the Crusaders’ altar was lost — at least that’s what people thought for a long time.”

The unique ornamentation on the altar was in the “Cosmatesque” style, named after the Cosmati family in papal Rome, who passed their stoneworking skills down through several generations. Cosmatesque art, which was a status symbol for the papacy, consisted of piecing small recycled pieces of marble scraped from other ancient buildings together to create complex geometric patterns, according to historians. (NYP / VFI News)

“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Yeshua, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.’” - Matthew 28:5-6

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.

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