Israel wants to hurt Hezbollah but not drag the Middle East into all-out war, two Israeli officials have said as Lebanon braced for retaliation after a rocket strike that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Two other Israeli officials said Israel was preparing for the possibility of a few days of fighting following Saturday’s rocket strike at a sports field in a Druze town that it blamed on the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has denied any connection with the incident.

All four Israeli officials, who included a senior defence official and a diplomatic source, spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity and gave no further information about Israel’s plans for retaliation.

“The estimation is that the response will not lead to an all-out war,” said the diplomatic source. “That would not be in our interest at this point.”

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