The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of launching an Iranian-made rocket that struck young people at a football field in the Druze-Arab town of Majdal Shams on Saturday.

Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the attack.

Local authorities said the dead were aged between 10 and 16 years.

Druze follow an offshoot of Shia Islam. Early on Sunday morning, Druze women gathered around the coffins covered in white shrouds ahead of the funeral.

Several women dressed in black abayas cried as they laid flowers on the caskets, an AFP correspondent reported.

Many held pink flowers, while hundreds of men dressed in traditional Druze attire, including white caps topped with red, arrived for the ceremonies.

"Every night, every day, every minute we are worried. It's been like this for 10 months," Laith, a 42-year-old nurse who gave only his first name, told AFP.

"Everybody you see here is worried all the time," he said. "We are so very sad. We lost children, children playing soccer."

Under scorching sun, religious leaders led hundreds at a prayer meeting in a local municipal building, with the entire town at a standstill.

Shops closed, and checkpoints were set up at the entrance of every village in the Golan.

In Majdal Shams many residents have not accepted Israeli nationality since Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967.

Footage broadcast by Israeli media showed mourners protesting the attendance of Israeli ministers, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, at the funeral, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.

One protester shouted at Smotrich, "Get out of here, you criminal. We don't want you in the Golan."

WAFA reported that Environment Protection Minister Idit Silman, Economy Minister Nir Barkat, and Energy Minister Eli Cohen also encountered protests during the event.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online