The Israel Air Force launched a wide scale bombardment of Iranian targets in Syria, in what the IDF spokesperson’s unit referred to as a “response to the rockets fired by an Iranian force from Syrian territory at Israel” a day earlier.
The Israeli military provided TV7 with a map of the referred to Iranian targets, which included “surface-to-air missiles, headquarters, weapons warehouses and military bases. During the aerial strike, a Syrian surface-to-air missile was fired toward Israeli aircraft, despite clear warnings that were relayed from Jerusalem to Damascus “to refrain from such fire.”
Consequently, a number of Syrian aerial defense batteries were targeted and destroyed. Syrian sources informed TV7 that “approximately at 1:20 AM, Israeli aircraft launched numerous missiles from both the Golan region in Israel and Marj Eyoun in Lebanon.”
In spite of the Syrian military’s efforts to intercept the incoming projectiles, multiple targets were destroyed – most of which were in the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus. While local Authorities claimed that only two Syrians were killed, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights provided alternate figures. According to the Syrian War Monitor, at least 11 people were killed in the Israeli strike, including “at least 7 foreign nationals” that are believed to be Iranians. The Syrian Observatory further noted that the airstrikes targeted arms depots belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force.
Meanwhile, the IDF spokesperson’s unit underscored in a statement that the retaliatory strike served as an appropriate response to “yesterday’s Iranian attack towards Israel,” which “is further clear proof of the purpose of the Iranian entrenchment in Syria, which threatens Israeli security, regional stability and the Syrian regime.” The Israeli military further underscored that it “holds the Syrian regime (of President Bashar al-Assad) responsible for actions emanating from its territory, and warns it from operating or allowing hostilities against Israel.” The IDF also reiterated that it “will continue operating firmly and resolutely against the Iranian entrenchment in Syria,” and that it “is prepared for various scenarios.” It is important to note that the military also urged the Israeli public to adhere to instructions from the Home Front Command, which will be updated according to the (developing) situation.