A Syrian Druze militia has joined voices with the leader of the Syrian Druze community to denounce Saturday’s Hezbollah rocket attack on the northern Israeli Druze village of Majdal Shams.
Twelve children were killed and more than 30 others were wounded, including many in critical condition, when an Iranian-made Falaq-1 missile carrying 53 kilograms (117 pounds) of explosives landed in a soccer field where a youth league was playing.
According to the Israeli military, Hezbollah is the only Iranian proxy that possesses such a weapon.
The Syrian Flag Brigade, a Druze militia, declared that Lebanon’s Iranian proxy army committed “a war crime” against “our people” in Majdal Shams.
“The horrific crime committed by the terrorist Hezbollah against our people in Majdal Shams clearly and explicitly indicates Hezbollah’s insistence on pressuring the Druze community and dragging them into the ongoing war in the Middle East.
In recent months, Iran, along with Hezbollah, has imposed a military siege on the province of as-Suwayda, taking control of all airports and military units surrounding the province. They have begun to exert pressure in various ways and directions on the people of the province, who oppose the Iranian presence in southern Syria.
Previously, Iran and Hezbollah played a major role in spreading drugs and supporting ISIS in the as-Suwayda desert to threaten the province.
The terrorist crime committed by Hezbollah today will contribute to the expansion of the war and puts Suwayda at risk due to Iran and the Syrian regime’s attempts to invade and control the province from within.
The escalation in the Middle East is becoming more dangerous, and Hezbollah is a partner to all terrorist organizations in the Middle East in spreading the ideology of terrorism and extremism, targeting the Druze community and all Syrians who reject its presence.
We consider what happened today a clear and public declaration of war by the terrorist Hezbollah and Iran against the Druze community, an act of criminal pressure aimed at dragging them into the ongoing war in the Middle East.
“Mercy to the souls of the martyrs of Majdal Shams and a speedy recovery to the wounded,” the statement concluded.
Several hours earlier, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, leader of the Syrian Druze community in Jabal al-Druze in as-Suwayda condemned the attack, according to News of Carmel and the North.
“I strongly condemn the heinous crime against the innocent and the children in the village of Majdal Shams and call on all UN bodies and international authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri said.
In an initial response to the massacre, the Israeli Air Force struck at least seven Hezbollah terrorist targets simultaneously overnight, both deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon.
Despite an initial Lebanese Druze statement of support for Hezbollah and denunciation of the Israeli “enemy, the community numbers approximately 250,000.
As such, the Lebanese Druze community could pose a possible internal threat to Hezbollah.
The Israeli Druze community, 150,000 strong and living right along Israel’s northern border, is certainly threat, as may be Syria’s Druze community, which numbers approximately 600,000.
