Majdal Shams attack aftermath: When the Golan became a new front in Israel's war - analysis

On the afternoon of July 27, a rocket fired by Hezbollah struck next to a sports field in the center of the Druze town of Majdal Shams, killing 12 children and teenagers. It was the worst mass killing of Druze in recent memory in the Golan. I drove up to the city to see the community in the wake of the tragedy.

Majdal Shams is a large town that sits at the foot of the Hermon mountain on the Golan Heights. As it has expanded, it has grown along the base of the mountain and spilled out below, growing closer to two other Druze towns, Masada and Buqata, so that they form one large community. In the winter, Majdal Shams is known as the entryway for people going skiing on Mount Hermon. In the summer, the town has a number of outdoor restaurants that cater to visitors. It is prosperous and pretty.

Residents of the Druze communities in the Golan have been on the front line of wars in the past. After the 1967 war, when Israel took the Golan from Syria, the Druze remained. Israelis moved to the Golan and built a dozen small communities on the heights. Many Golan Druze have a complex relationship with Israel. Unlike Druze in the rest of Israel, they took to Israeli citizenship slowly and are still conflicted over their previous Syrian nationality. Syria sees them as Syrians. During the Syrian civil war, they watched cautiously what happened across the border, as Syrian rebels attacked Druze villages on the other side.

Since Oct. 7, they have found themselves close to a new front line, as Hezbollah has rained down rockets on Israel. The Golan was largely quiet in the first months of Hezbollah attacks. However, in the spring and summer of 2024, Hezbollah began expanding its attacks, targeting IDF bases in the Golan.

On the afternoon of July 27, a large rocket fired by Hezbollah struck Majdal Shams. When news of the attack circulated, it became clear this was a mass casualty attack, with many children and teens dead and wounded. I was in Jerusalem at the time, and it was the evening. It was clear this was an unprecedented attack by Hezbollah, the worst of the war in terms of civilian casualties. How would Israel respond? How would Hezbollah respond? I drove up from Jerusalem through the night, arriving in Majdal Shams after midnight.

Journeying to Majdal Shams in the wake of the Hezbollah attack

The journey to Majdal Shams was uneventful. In the wake of the mass killing, Hezbollah was trying to spin the story, suggesting it was not responsible. It knew it had made a mistake and massacred civilians. It was unclear if Hezbollah had purposely targeted the city. 

When I arrived, Majdal Shams was quiet. There were no police cars or medical teams. Earlier in the evening, the security forces and medics had responded. Members of the IDF and others had come to the city to express solidarity and pay condolences. Now the city was back to governing its own affairs.

I didn’t know exactly where the impact site was when I arrived, but it wasn’t hard to find. The rocket had landed next to a playground, between the playground and a soccer field. The soccer field itself abuts a much larger field that is in the center of the town. The whole site is central to the town, with municipal buildings situated nearby. If one had wanted to aim a rocket at the center of this town, this is where one would aim.

At three in the morning, the only people present were mostly long lines of young men walking back and forth. Some were bringing chairs to the large field, where the Druze community had decided to hold a mass memorial later in the day. Throughout the night, teams of young men came and went. They were all wearing black, some of them with the white caps that are common among younger Druze religious men.

I caught a few hours’ sleep that night in my car and returned to the site of the attack in the morning. By this time, people had begun to arrive to sit in the white chairs that now carpeted the field. Older men arrived first, including Druze religious leaders. Many people wanted to see the site where the rocket fell. 

The site was near the corner of a field. The fence that usually surrounded the field had been blown open by the blast and was charred. There were bicycles that had been burnt and destroyed by the impact. These would have been where the kids and teens were standing. There was also a shelter nearby, but clearly it was not big enough for large number of people to hide in. It was one of the concrete shelters several meters long by two meters wide that have been hastily set up in parts of northern Israel throughout the war. 

But there are not enough shelters. In many communities, there are only a few of these new temporary shelters, set up in places where people gather.

Throughout the day in Majdal Shams, people came slowly to gather for the ceremony, which was supposed to take place in the afternoon. Education Minister Yoav Kisch also arrived, briefly, to see the site of the attack. Most of those arriving were Druze, but there were also members of the Jewish community. On the roads leading to Majdal Shams there were signs of solidarity, such as some shops that had already put up signs about the massacre. Black flags were also draped from sign posts.

At the Jewish community of El Rom, residents had gathered on the streets with Israeli flags and the multi-colored Druze flag to show support. This sense of solidarity was strong. 

The Golan had now become a new front in this long war on terror that had begun on Oct. 7.  