Golan Heights Between Israel and Hezbollah Mourns Its Young Children

MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights — Eleven-year-old Alma was her father’s little girl. She got away with whatever she wanted. Her father, Ayman Fakhr al-Din, said she was always full of energy and loved sports.

That was the last thing she did before she tragically died.

Alma was killed along with 11 other children when a rocket hit a football field in Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, on Saturday.

Israeli officials have blamed Hezbollah for the attack and vowed revenge. The Lebanese militant group has “strongly” denied responsibility.

In addition to the 12 dead, at least 44 people were injured in the attack that shocked the city’s Syrian Druze community.

People here, caught in the simmering conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, tell CNN they are used to hearing sirens and seeing rockets flying overhead — but never like this.

“This time something was wrong. It was something unbelievable,” Fakhr al-Din said.

He was out shopping just outside the village when he heard the massive attack shake the area. He called his eldest son, 13-year-old Rayan, to check on him when he returned.

Rayan and his younger brother were playing on the football field minutes before the rocket fell. Fakhr al-Din was relieved that they were still alive.

“And Alma?” he asked.

Her brothers assumed she had gone home, but Fakhr al-Din thought he would go to the scene of the crime anyway.

“I arrived at the stadium and in the corner I saw dead bodies and body parts. When I got closer to one of them, I saw a bracelet on a girl’s wrist. That’s when I knew it was Alma,” he said.

The horror that Fakhr al-Din witnessed is shared by almost everyone in the village, who are filled with a sense of bewilderment and shock at what has happened to their close-knit community.

Thousands of mourners gathered on Sunday to pay their respects to the families of the victims. A funeral procession was held in the middle of the village, with people standing on balconies and rooftops to watch the ceremony.

The mood was somber and the sadness was palpable.

Over loudspeakers, religious leaders and imams gave sermons and blessings for the deceased. The loud calls were to “end this insane war in Gaza,” which has sparked a violent tit-for-tit between Israel and Hezbollah along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Luna, a resident of the village, lost two of her cousins ​​in the attack. She went to the stadium shortly after the attack and saw their bloodied remains.

She could barely speak a sentence.

“I always see videos of massacres in Gaza. I never thought it would happen to us,” she said.

Another resident, Najwan Abu Saleh, told CNN that the entire community is in shock.

“It’s an incredible disaster. We haven’t slept yet, so we haven’t processed it yet,” he said.

He said that no one ever expected this and that there is no logic that can justify this.

“They were just kids. What did they do wrong?”

There is a strong sense of community in Majdal Shams. Most residents, if asked if they know a victim, will say, “We are all one family.”

That sense of kinship was evident at the funeral, where people of all ages stood side by side to comfort each other in their grief.

One by one, the coffins, draped in white sheets and decorated with flowers, were carried through the crowd. With each coffin that appeared, there were deeper cries and wailing, as if they were reliving their deaths over and over again.

The fear now is mainly focused on what is to come.

Parents are afraid to send their children outside. No one feels safe anymore.

Saturday’s attack was a major escalation in what have already been extremely turbulent months in the border region, and fears are growing that the escalation could lead to a full-fledged regional war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Fakhr al-Din, still reeling from his grief, told CNN he had no doubt that Hezbollah fired the rocket.

“Who killed my daughter is Hezbollah,” he said. “My enemy is Hezbollah, I say that openly.”

Despite his anger, he said he does not want more children to die and does not want the situation to escalate.

All he wants is to forget the last time he saw his daughter.

“She loved to play, just like any other child,” he said. Pointing to her pink bedroom, he added: “We’ll eventually have a room without Alma.” — CNN