Israel Strikes Syrian Military in Retaliation for Rocket Attacks
Strikes follow rocket attacks on Israel
Israel launched air strikes in southern Syria, killing eight Syrian soldiers and wounding seven others, according to Syrian state media. The Israeli military stated the attack was in retaliation for rocket fire targeted at Israel.
The strikes come during a time of escalating tensions with Hizbullah in Lebanon and Palestinian factions in Syria, stoking concerns over a new theater of conflict in Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
Syrian state media reported that the Israeli aircraft took off from the Golan Heights around 1:45 a.m. local time. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog, reported 11 Syrian soldiers killed, including four officers.
The Observatory also noted that the Israeli strikes “destroyed arms depots and a Syrian air defense radar” and targeted an infantry unit. Previously, Israeli strikes had rendered Damascus and Aleppo airports inoperative, according to Syrian reports.
During Syria’s decade-long civil war, Israel has conducted numerous airstrikes targeting Hizbullah and Iran-backed forces, along with Syrian military installations. Israel seized much of the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it, a move not internationally recognized by the UN.
