Thousands attend funeral for children killed in Israel by Hezbollah missile

Thousands of people gathered this Sunday to say goodbye as part of a collective funeral to 11 of the 12 children who were killed, according to a report published by the EFE Spanish language service. Another funeral took place previously in Ein Quiniye for a child who died yesterday as a result of a reputed Hezbollah missile impact that struck a soccer field where they were playing.

“The images of horror will never be erased,” read at the ceremony the Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, who marked the past day as a “dark Saturday” that will remain “etched in memory as a low point in humanity.”

In a square in the heart of the Druze city, thousands of citizens, most of whom wore black clothing, gathered at street level, rooftops and balconies as 12 white coffins holding deceased minors between 10 and 16 years old, passed by.

Some of the ministers of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud government who were present at the funeral, such as Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich and Minister of Economy Nir Barkat.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid and Labor leader Yair Golan also attended.

"The role of the State is to provide security for children, said the centrist leader. Children are not supposed to die in adult wars. The government failed, [and] we apologize to the families,"

The attack also left around 30 people injured who were taken to several hospitals in the area.

Three of them, aged 11, 12 and 14, remain admitted to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed in critical condition. They are sedated and intubated, with abdominal and chest wounds and hip fractures, according to The Times of Israel.

Five other injured children remain at Rambam hospital in the northern city of Haifa where they underwent surgeries overnight, four of them in the intensive care unit.

Another 13 children, between 2 and 15 years old, with shrapnel wounds, are in moderate condition.

On the other hand, the search continues for Guevara Ibrahim, 11 years old, who disappeared after the attack. The boy is believed to have been on the soccer field when he was hit by a missile fired from Lebanon.

After this tragedy, Israel assured that it is time for the world to hold "Iran and its allies fully responsible," pointing to Hezbollah, Hamas and Yemen's Houthi rebels, who attacked Tel Aviv last weekend, causing one death.