Mourning Druze of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights have distanced themselves from Israeli attack on Lebanon, accusing hawkish Israeli leaders of leveraging their tragedy for political gains.

On a visit to the town on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is accused of carrying out genocide of Palestinians in besieged Gaza, vowed Israel would deliver a "severe response" to an incident in Golan Heights, which killed 12 children aged between 10 and 16 as they played football on Saturday. Hezbollah has denied any role in the killings.

Scores of Majdal Shams residents came out to protest Netanyahu's visit, many donning traditional Druze caps.

The hawkish prime minister arrived hours after hundreds of mourners had joined the funeral procession for one of the children killed, Guevara Ibrahim, 11.

In a statement issued after his visit, Druze religious leaders said the community rejects the "attempt to exploit the name of Majdal Shams as a political platform at the expense of the blood of our children".

Noting that the Druze faith "forbids killing and revenge in any form", the community leaders said, "We reject the shedding of even a single drop of blood under the pretext of avenging our children".

Most of Majdal Shams's around 11,000 residents still identify as Syrian more than half a century after Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria and later annexed it in a move not recognised by the international community.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military claimed to have attacked around 10 Hezbollah targets overnight and killed one of its top commanders. Hezbollah says the senior figure survived the assassination bid. Lebanon says the strike killed four civilians including two minors.

'Who will we strike?'

An AFP news agency journalist reported that a semblance of normality had returned to Majdal Shams on Tuesday, with shops open and residents walking on the streets.

But the Druze leaders and residents said the whole community was still reeling from the children's deaths.

"The tragedy is immense, the impact is painful, and the loss is shared by every household in the Golan," they said.

A paramedic from Majdal Shams, Nabih Abu Saleh, told AFP: "The town is in a state of mourning that may last for a week.

"We can't look into each other's eyes, because tears will flow," he added.

Saleh said his community was "against any Israeli response", and asked: "Who will we strike? Our people in Syria and Lebanon?"

The Druze are an Arabic-speaking community present in Israel, Lebanon and Syria, including the Golan.

The violence on the Israel-Lebanon border since October has killed 22 soldiers and 24 civilians on the Israeli side, including in the occupied Golan, according to Israeli army figures. Hezbollah says it has inflicted heavy casualties on Israeli military since October 7 and rejects the figures cited by Tel Aviv.

Israel has killed at least 527 people on the Lebanese side, according to an AFP tally.