Israel strikes Syrian military targets near Damascus, IDF calls it ‘response’ to failed border attack
Israeli jets bombed several Syrian military sites south of Damascus late on Monday, the IDF has confirmed, saying that the attack had been launched in response to the attempted planting of a bomb in the Golan Heights.
The airstrike took place in the countryside southwest of Damascus, SANA news agency reported, describing explosions being heard in the city.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) then said in a statement the attack was a response to an attempted provocation on the Syrian-Israeli border, targeting a fence in the occupied Golan Heights.
The IDF said the strike targeted Syrian army’s observation posts, intelligence-gathering equipment, anti-aircraft cannons and command-and-control infrastructure.
In response to an attempted IED attack near the security fence between Syria & Israel last night, we just struck SAF targets in Syria including:🎯 observation posts🎯 intel collection systems🎯 anti-aircraft artillery 🎯 command & control systemsWe hold Syria responsible.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 3, 2020
The sound of jets racing through the night sky can clearly be heard in footage allegedly shot in Damascus and posted on Twitter.
#BREAKING#Israeli war jets intensely flying over #Damascus , #Syria.@Bilesa_Shaweys#BreakingNewspic.twitter.com/201N73YVGQ
— 🌎 Sarwar 🌐 (@ferozwala) August 3, 2020
#BREAKING-Confirmed Israeli airstrikes targeted military sites (most likely linked to #Iran) in the vicinity of Damascus, #Syria-Syrian air defenses active over Damascus-Israeli helicopter strikes a position in Quneitra on Golan Heights borderRight map: @evacool_pic.twitter.com/oXC5lDfIwQ
— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) August 3, 2020
BREAKING: 24 hours after the incident on the Israel-Syria border, it seems that the Israeli Air Force is currently striking targets in Syria
— Elior Levy • אליאור לוי (@eliorlevy) August 3, 2020
The strikes come less than 24 hours after the IDF said it stopped an infiltration attempt into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights by four fighters, who were said to have crossed the Syrian border to plant explosives at an unmanned military outpost. All were killed by Israeli forces, the IDF said, though it has not identified what military or armed group the men may have belonged to.
In a similar incident last week, Tel Aviv said a “terrorist cell” had attempted an incursion into Israel from Lebanon, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pinning the alleged attack on Hezbollah, insisting the Shi’ite militant group was “playing with fire” and bore “full responsibility for this incident and any attack from Lebanese territory against Israel.” Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the alleged infiltration.
Israel has repeatedly launched air and missile strikes against what it says are Iranian targets in Syria throughout the country’s years-long war, but Tel Aviv is not in the habit of acknowledging the attacks. In a rare public admission last year, however, Netanyahu boasted of “hundreds” of strikes on Syrian targets, citing the need to beat back the Iranian presence there.
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