The Israeli Security Cabinet on Sunday decided to entrust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with the responsibility for determining the scope and timing of Israel’s response to the Saturday attack that killed twelve civilians, most of them Druze children, in Majdal Shams. Israel attributes the strike to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, while Hezbollah denies involvement and attributes the incident to an Israeli interception weapon. The cabinet’s decision shifts the control of the retaliation plan to the two senior leaders, pending their assessment of when and how force should be applied against Lebanon in retaliation for the attack.
The four-hour cabinet session followed an initial understanding to place the decision-making on the broader response in the hands of Netanyahu and Gallant. The prime minister’s office released a statement confirming that the meeting reached an agreement on the allocation of power to determine the proportional response and the appropriate moment to execute it, given the delicate regional dynamics and the potential for escalation.
During the session, several ministers voiced concerns about the speed of the prior week’s retaliatory measures against Yemen, which had targeted Houthi forces. The gathering offered all ministers an opportunity to present their positions, with participants cited by the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth as having a lengthy and candid discussion about the strategy and timing of any further action.
In the final vote, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir abstained, indicating reservations about the pace or scale of a potential response. The abstentions underscored the internal disagreements within the coalition on how to manage cross-border retaliation and diplomatic signals in a volatile regional environment.
Beyond discussions on retaliation, the cabinet also revisited the ongoing negotiations for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip. The topic was acknowledged as an important issue but was left for consideration at a future meeting, according to sources cited by Yedioth Ahronoth. The postponement highlighted the prioritization of immediate security concerns while keeping room for future deliberations on humanitarian and prisoner exchange matters.
Twelve Druze civilians—most of them under the age of 18—were killed on Sunday in Majdal Shams, a Druze-majority community located in the Golan Heights, which is under Israeli control. The casualties occurred after an attack that Israel described as a rocket fired from Lebanon with attribution to Hezbollah and Iran. Hezbollah, for its part, denied involvement and attributed the damage to an Israeli air defense interceptor. The incident intensified debates about accountability, regional responsibility, and the potential for broader hostilities across the Israel-Lebanon front, as leaders weighed the appropriate response without triggering a wider conflict.
As officials assess the evolving security landscape, attention remains on balancing deterrence with de-escalation, ensuring that any measured response targets appropriate threats while avoiding unnecessary civilian harm and broader regional instability. The government’s posture continues to reflect a careful approach that seeks to satisfy security requirements, address political sensitivities, and preserve regional stability in a fragile period for the country and its neighbors.