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Middle East conflict

Israel close to full-blown war with Lebanon and Hezbollah, foreign minister says

According to Israel Katz, "Shelling Majdal Shams and harming civilians and children crosses all red lines"

TEL AVIV, July 27. /TASS/. Israel is moving closer to an all-out war with Hezbollah and Lebanon, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said following the shelling of a village in the Golan Heights earlier on Saturday.

"Shelling Majdal Shams and harming civilians and children crosses all red lines. The response will be appropriate. We are approaching the moment of an all-out war with Hezbollah and Lebanon," he said on Israel’s Channel 12 television.

"We will pay a heavy price on the battlefield and in the rear, but at the end of the war, [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah and Hezbollah will be defeated and Lebanon will be severely damaged. We will restore peace and security to the population centers in the north," Katz went on to say.

The minister said that he ordered diplomats to "prepare for a comprehensive operation around the world to ensure the [international] legitimacy of the operation in Lebanon." He expressed confidence that Israel will have the "full support" of the US and Europe regarding Lebanon.

The IDF earlier reported heavy shelling of Israeli north, including the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, from Lebanon. At least one rocket hit a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. According to the latest reports, 11 people were killed, including teenagers and children, and 19 were injured.

Hezbollah denied any involvement.

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