Israeli strikes blast sites outside Damascus as border tensions grow
IDF says it hit Syrian Army targets in response to rocket fire on Golan Heights; Syria says ‘material losses’ caused
The Israel Defense Forces said it carried out strikes on Syria early Tuesday morning in response to rocket fire on northern Israel a night earlier.
In a short statement, the IDF said it struck “infrastructure” belonging to the Syrian Army. It did not elaborate on where the targets were located, or how the strikes were carried out.
Syrian state media claimed the airstrikes hit sites outside Damascus.
A Syrian military statement cited by official mouthpiece SANA said the air attack came from the direction of the Golan Heights at 4:35 a.m., and that “material losses” were caused to the targeted sites.
The IDF said the strike came after five rockets had been fired from Syria at northern Israel on Monday night, falling in open areas and causing no injuries or damage. Sirens sounded in the southern Golan Heights communities of Avnei Eitan and Nov.
Israel said it had also shelled the launch sites with artillery immediately following the attack.
5 שיגורים במטח האחרון לדרום הגולן, אין נפגעים | תיעוד: נפילת רקטה סמוך לרכב@guyvaron pic.twitter.com/rjWq6IqUoc
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) January 1, 2024
UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the Israeli strike Tuesday morning targeted a Hezbollah position in the town of Kanaker, some 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the Israeli border on the Golan Heights, resulting in unspecified casualties.
The information from the opposition watchdog, which has been accused of inflating losses of Syrian regulars and allied forces, could not be verified.
Recent days have seen several alleged sorties carried out against sites in Syria as part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to prevent Iran from supplying arms to its proxy Hezbollah, which has stepped up attacks on northern Israel over the past several months amid the ongoing war in Gaza, including on Tuesday morning, when missiles fired from Lebanon damaged a building in the Israeli border town of Shlomi.
On Saturday, munition warehouses belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force were reportedly targeted near Aleppo International Airport in northern Syria.
Also on Saturday, airstrikes in eastern Syria near a strategic border crossing with Iraq killed four Hezbollah members and two other Iran-backed fighters, according to the terror group and its allies.
Alleged Israeli airstrikes also hit the Syrian capital of Damascus and other areas of southern Syria on Thursday night.
Last week, senior IRGC officer Brig. Gen. Razi Mousavi was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Damascus, drawing Iranian threats of retaliatory action.
The stepped-up strikes have coincided with the planned departure of a US aircraft carrier strike group sent to the Eastern Mediterranean to deter Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups from attacking Israel, even as the northern border has become increasingly volatile.
Lebanese terror group Hezbollah has fired rockets at northern Israel and carried out attacks along the border on a near-daily basis, saying it is acting in support of Hamas amid the ongoing war.
Tens of thousands of northern residents have been displaced to other areas of Israel due to the incessant attacks, with Israeli officials making increasingly bellicose threats as they face pressure to order the military to shift its attention toward the northern border.
On Tuesday morning, two anti-tank guided missiles were fired from Lebanon at the border town of Shlomi, with one landing near a building and causing slight damage, local authorities said.
“This is a very serious incident and miraculously no physical damage was caused to the residents. The [attack] this morning illustrates the great danger of the current situation for the residents of Shlomi,” said Mayor Gabi Naaman.
The IDF said it had carried out strikes on Hezbollah positions in the Lebanese village of Yaroun, close to the border, on Tuesday morning amid the cross-border attacks.
The IDF says fighter jets carried out strikes on Hezbollah positions in the Lebanese village of Yaroun, close to the border.
It also confirms that two missiles were fired from Lebanon at Shlomi. pic.twitter.com/6v6ykcfsUX
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 2, 2024
War erupted in Gaza and southern Israel on October 7, sparked by a devastating surprise attack by Palestinian terror group Hamas. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel during the onslaught. At least 240 people were also abducted and taken as hostages into Gaza.
Israel responded to the attack with a military campaign, including a ground incursion, aimed at removing Hamas from power and freeing the hostages.
