At funeral for 11 of 12 Druze children killed in missile attack, criticism of coalition ministers to take action

Residents demand firm response: ‘If you don’t know how to protect us, we know how to protect ourselves’

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Thousands of people, including several coalition ministers attended the funerals late Sunday morning of 11 of the 12 children killed in the Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams Saturday.

Videos on Israeli TV and social media showed 10 white coffins being carried through the streets of Majdal Shams ahead of the funerals.

Among the ministers who arrived at the funeral were Energy Minister Eli Cohen (Likud), Economy Minister Nir Barkat (Likud), Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism), Interior Minister Moshe Arbel (Shas) and more.

Smotrich said, "The massacre of the children of Majdal Shams is unimaginable. I share in the sorrow of the families, and the entire Druze community. This is a great sorrow for the entire State of Israel. The whole people of Israel is with you and crying with you at this difficult time.”

Cohen said, "I came to Majdal Shams to be with our Druze brothers in their difficult hour. Their pain is the pain of the entire State of Israel.”

Cohen said, “The entire world needs to see the difficult pictures and understand what evil the State of Israel is facing. The murder of children will not pass in silence. Today in the cabinet I will demand a heavy price from Lebanon and Hezbollah.”

Barkat acknowledged frustration with the government.

“I came to honor and share in the sorrow of our brothers from the Druze community in the Majdal Shams massacre and heard firsthand the pain and frustration alongside the expectation of the government to change reality.” He continued, “It is the duty of a state to ensure the security of its citizens.”

However, many of those attending the funerals were not happy with the ministers who attended, shouting at them for failing to protect the northern communities from Hezbollah attacks.

“You abandoned us for nine months and now you are here?” a man shouted at Barkat and Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman.

Several people in the crowd also shouted at Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, saying, “Get him out of here! We don’t want him!”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid also attended the funerals.

“We ask for forgiveness of these children. The response will be harsh and it will reverberate throughout the Middle East. We won't let it, just pass. But today we will only bow our heads, share in the grief of the families and pray for the safety of the wounded together,” he said.

According to Ynet News, several people fainted from grief during the funeral procession and were treated by EMS personnel at the scene.

Several Druze leaders demanded a “forceful” response from Israel, threatening to retaliate themselves if Israel does not take action. Some shouted at the coalition ministers, “Why is Beirut still standing?”

Majdal Shams resident Samir Halabi told local news channels: “We are staying here. Majdal Shams is ours. The Golan is ours. If you [Israel] don’t know how to defend, we will know how to defend ourselves.”

A reservist from nearby Kibbutz Elrom attacked the minister as well, saying, “We've been bombed here for ten months. They shoot at Tel Aviv and you turned Yemen upside down. Now that 11 children are dead, you're coming. My child cries in the morning. Our souls are being torn apart here, and you come to be photographed.”

Several ministers will leave the funeral early in order to attend a Security Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived back in Israel shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday. Netanyahu vowed that Hezbollah would pay a "heavy price" and said he would convene the Security Cabinet to discuss Israel’s response to the Hezbollah attack. According to Israeli media, the meeting will take place at Israel's military headquarters at 4 p.m.

On Saturday night, Voice of Lebanon Radio reported that Hezbollah had ordered the evacuation of hundreds of non-military facilities throughout the country due to concerns about a retaliatory strike by the Israel Defense Forces.