Nine dead in rocket attack on Israeli-occupied Golan

Eleven children and young adults have been killed and 19 others injured after a rocket hit a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Israeli authorities say.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a rocket fell on the Druze town of Majdal Shams.

Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group, has regularly exchanged fire with Israeli forces since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war in October. But Saturday's attack was the deadliest loss of life in Israeli-controlled territory since the war began.

The IDF blamed Hezbollah for the attack. But the militant group's spokesman, Mohamad Afif, denied “any relation to the Majdal Shams incident".

"All accusations [of the group’s involvement] are false”.

Israeli authorities said all of those killed were between the ages of 10 and 20.

Verified video shows crowds of people on a football pitch and stretchers being rushed to waiting ambulances.

Majdal Shams is one of four villages in the Golan Heights, where about 25,000 Druze people live, an Arabic-speaking religious and ethnic group.

Before reports of the strike's impact emerged, Hezbollah had claimed responsibility for four other attacks.

One was on the military headquarters of the Hermon Brigade, on the slopes of Mt Hermon, which lies on the border between Israel and Lebanon. The base is around two miles (3km) from the football pitch.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari accused Hezbollah of "lying and denying responsibility for the incident."

"Our intelligence is clear. Hezbollah is responsible for the murder of innocent children," he said, adding that Israel was preparing to retaliate.

Although Israel and Hezbollah regularly trade fire and have both suffered casualties, since October, both sides have refrained from actions which could escalate into a broader war in southern Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was on a visit to the US, is returning home early.

In a phone call, he told a leader of the Druze community in Israel that "Hezbollah will pay a heavy price, the kind it has thus far not paid," according to a statement from his office.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israel's Channel 12 news: “We are facing an all-out war.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the incident a "terrible and shocking disaster" and said that "the state of Israel will firmly defend its citizens and its sovereignty".

Lebanon's government also issued a rare statement in response, saying it "condemns all acts of violence and aggression against all civilians and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts.

"Targeting civilians is a flagrant violation of international law and goes against the principles of humanity," the statement added.

The US and EU have also condemned the attack.

Most Druze live in northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria. In Israel, they have full citizenship rights and comprise about 1.5% of the population.

They were offered Israeli citizenship when the Golan Heights was annexed from Syria in 1981, but only a minority accepted.

Most have retained an allegiance to Syria. Druze in the Golan can still study and work in Israel, though only those with citizenship can vote and Druze men are required to serve in the army.

The Druze are the largest non-Jewish group to serve in the IDF.

The vast majority of the international community does not recognise Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights.