US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he does not want to see an escalation of conflict on Israel’s northern border after Israel accused Hezbollah of killing 12 children and teenagers in a rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Reuters reports.

Israel said it would strike hard against the Iran-backed group after the incident. Blinken said the US was in talks with Israel about the incident and the indications were that Lebanon-based Hezbollah fired the rocket.

Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the attack.