U.S. affirms 'ironclad commitment' for Israel after Iran-backed attack kills 12 kids

The White House and Department of State offered condolences and "reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security" after an Iran-backed Hezbollah attack.

The attack killed 12 children and injured two dozen others on a soccer field in northern Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who cut his trip to the U.S. short after the attack, laid a wreath at the site on Monday and vowed a "severe" response.

"We embrace the families that are now enduring indescribable suffering," said Netanyahu at the wreath-laying ceremony.

"Our response will come and it will be severe," Netanyahu promised.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday, according to a State Department press release.

Blinken "expressed condolences for those killed in the village of Majdal Shams," an ethnic Druze community in northern Israel near the Lebanon border.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of preventing escalation" and called for a "diplomatic solution."

Blinken and Herzog "also discussed ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and secure the release of hostages."

The attack "should be universally condemned," a White House press release said.

Both press releases reaffirmed America's "ironclad" support for Israel's security.