Israel vows revenge after at least 12 killed in airstrike in occupied Golan Heights

At least 12 people including children died in an airstrike on a football ground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, Israeli authorities said.

The rocket hit the pitch, which at the time was filled with children and teenagers, in the Druze village of Majdal Shams.

It is situated in territory Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move not recognised by most countries.

The strike is the deadliest on an Israeli target since the war in Gaza started and has raised new fears of a broader escalation in the region.

Israel said that, according to intelligence it had, the rocket launch was carried out by “the Hezbollah terrorist organisation” and has vowed revenge.

The Iran-backed Lebanese group has denied any responsibility for the strike.

Meanwhile, on Saturday an Israeli airstrike killed at least 30 Palestinians and wounded more than a 100 others sheltering in a school in Deir al-Balah in Gaza.

Israel's military said it had targeted militants operating there and claimed it had taken steps to reduce the risk to civilians.

These latest deaths will likely complicate ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations, with officials from the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Israel scheduled to meet in Italy on Sunday.

US officials said on Friday that Israel and Hamas had agreed on the basic framework of the three-phase ceasefire deal pitched by US President Joe Biden.