Saturday, July 27: At least twelve people – most of them young – are killed and tens are injured in a rocket attack from Lebanon against the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, according to Israel's military. The rocket hit a football field in the town of Majdal Shams, where mostly Arabic-speaking Druze reside. Israel points out the Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah as responsible.
Sunday, July 28: Israel raises the tone and claims to have attacked targets "deep within Lebanese territory". Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are given free hands by the security cabinet to decide how and when Israel will respond to the attack on the Golan Heights. The fear of an escalation of the conflict increases.
Monday, July 29: Israel will respond with force to the deadly attack on the Golan Heights over the weekend, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Tuesday, July 30: Israel announces that its military has killed a leading military commander within Hezbollah in Beirut, Lebanon, Fuad Shukr. His body has been found in the rubble after the building was attacked, a source within Hezbollah reports later.
Wednesday, July 31: Hamas's top leader Ismail Haniya has been killed in an air strike in Tehran, according to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Haniya was in Iran to attend the inauguration of the country's new president Masoud Pezeshkian. Terror-listed Hamas blames Israel for the death and threatens with retaliation.
