JERUSALEM 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed the evacuation of 150 sick and wounded Palestinian children from the Gaza Strip to the United Arab Emirates for treatment, an Israeli media outlet reported Sunday. 

“A group of sick children from Gaza was supposed to leave for the UAE via Israel tomorrow (Monday), but after the Majdal Shams incident, Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered a delay in their departure,” the state-run broadcasting authority said.

It said Netanyahu decided to postpone the children’s departure via Israel’s Ramon Airbase.

The authority did provide a new departure date for the sick children.

There has been no comment from the UAE on the matter.

On Saturday, a missile attack was carried out on a football field in the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights, killing 12 people, including children.

Israel blames Hezbollah for the attack, but the Lebanese group has denied playing any role.

Fears have grown about a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid an exchange of cross-border attacks between the two sides.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught on Gaza which has killed more than 39,300 people since last October, following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul