THE Lebanese group Hezbollah strongly denied today that it was behind a rocket strike on a football field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday that killed at least 11 young people.

Israeli forces say they have attacked Hezbollah targets “deep inside Lebanon in retaliation.”

The two sides have been exchanging fire on a regular basis since October when fighting between Israel and Hamas began.

Hezbollah chief spokesman Mohammed Afif said the group “categorically denies carrying out an attack on Majdal Shams.” 

The strike at the football field, just before sunset, followed earlier cross-border violence on Saturday, when Hezbollah said three of its fighters were killed, without specifying where. 

Hezbollah said its fighters carried out 10 different attacks using rockets and explosive drones against Israeli military posts, the last of which targeted the army command of the Haramoun Brigade in Maaleh Golani with Katyusha rockets. 

In a separate statement, Hezbollah said that it hit the same army post with a short-range Falaq rocket. It said the attacks were in response to Israeli air strikes on villages in southern Lebanon.

But Israeli authorities blamed Hezbollah for the strike which it alleges was launched from an area north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon. 

Jihan Sfadi, the principal of a primary school, told Channel 12 that five students were among the dead: “Parents are crying, people are screaming outside. No one can digest what has happened.”

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was on a visit to the United States, said that he would cut short his trip by several hours and would convene the security cabinet after arriving.

Mr Netanyahu warned that Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price for this attack, one that it has not paid so far.”

Far-right members of Mr Netanyahu’s coalition government called for a harsh response against Hezbollah. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned of an all-out war in the region, saying: “There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed all the red lines here, and the response will reflect that.”

A statement from the White House national security council said the US “will continue to support efforts to end these terrible attacks along the Blue Line, which must be a top priority.”

The statement said: “Our support for Israel's security is iron-clad and unwavering against all Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah.”

Lebanon’s government, in a statement that didn’t mention Majdal Shams, called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts” and condemned all attacks on civilians.