Photo by Yissachar Ruas/TPS on 2 June, 2019
Israel Air Force (IAF) fighters and gunships on Saturday night carried out several strikes against military targets inside Syria in retaliation for rockets fired from Syria at the Israeli Hermon earlier in the evening.
Two rockets were launched from Syria to Israel, one landing within Israeli territory on Mount Hermon in northern Israel. The rocket exploded in an open area, causing no injuries or damage.
The IDF estimate that the attack was deliberate, possibly carried out by an Iranian proxy acting on orders from Tehran.
In response, the IAF struck a number of Syrian Armed Forces military targets, including two artillery batteries, observation and intelligence posts, and a SA-2 aerial defense battery.
“We hold the Syrian regime accountable and will firmly operate against any attempt to harm Israeli civilians,” the IDF stated.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he held security consultations following the rocket fire on the Golan Heights and instructed the IDF “to take firm action.”
“We are not prepared to tolerate firing at our territory and will respond with great force to any aggression against us,” he stated. “This has been my consistent policy and this is what we will continue to do for the security of Israel.”
The IAF released footage of the attack showing accurate strikes on the targets.
Syria’s SANA news reported that Syrian air defenses confronted an Israeli attack that targeted some sites in southwestern Damascus and in Quneitra region, adjacent to the border with Israel.
The report said that three soldiers were killed in the strikes and seven others were injured.
The Syrian air defenses downed missiles that were targeting Syrian positions in the southwestern Damascus, the report claimed.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has assets on the ground in Syria, reported that the Israeli raids targeted areas in the south and south-west of the capital Damascus, specifically near Al-Husseiniyah and Al-Kiswah, where Iranian forces and the Hezbollah terror group have positions and warehouses.
This is the second IAF strike in Syria in a week. IAF jets on Monday night bombed a Syrian anti-aircraft gun which fired earlier in the day at an Israeli aircraft flying inside Israel.
The SOHR said that the two missiles fired at the Golan are believed to have been launched by Hezbollah forces which are located in the south of Damascus.
Iran uses its positions in Syria to transfer weapons and infrastructure to its terror proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, while attempting to establish another military front against Israel from the Syrian Golan Heights.
Iran’s military build-up in Syria remains a red line for Israel. The IAF has carried out thousands of attacks to thwart the Iranian entrenchment in the war-torn country.
