Four rockets were launched from Syria towards Israel’s northern communities early this morning. A few minutes before 5 AM, rocket-alert sirens were sounded in the northern Golan region and in several communities in the Galilee panhandle.
The IDF spokesperson’s unit told TV7 that all of the incoming projectiles “were intercepted by the Israeli defense systems,” while underscoring that “no hits on Israeli communities were identified.” Thankfully, no injuries or damage were reported.
It is important to note that the IDF has not instructed the public in the Golan or Galilee regions to deviate from its routine activities, and schools remained open during the day.
In response to the rocket-fire, Israel reportedly conducted retaliatory strikes against Iranian-backed targets in a southern district of the Syrian capital, Damascus – near the city’s international airport. While official Syrian news outlets reported vaguely that explosions were heard near the Damascus international airport – they stopped short from unveiling further details. That said, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that five missiles were fired from Israel’s mount Hermon toward an area in southern Damascus, where installations belonging to the Lebanese group Hezbollah and other Iranian-proxy militias are situated. The London-based Watchdog further noted that Syrian air defenses managed to intercept some of the incoming missiles, yet it did not provide any information on probable casualties or the extent of the damage.
It is important to underscore that no organization has claimed responsibility for the rocket-fire toward Israel, and in tandem, the IDF refused to confirm nor deny its responsibility for the reported retaliatory strike on Iranian-backed targets in Damascus.
That said, Israel’s newly appointed Defense Minister Naftali Bennett announced that he will hold a security consultation with IDF Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, as well as with other top military officials at the Israeli military’s headquarters in Tel Aviv. This meeting comes just one day after the top defense official, who was appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, conducted his first meeting with Israel’s top military brass, which he ended with a public prayer for the peace and salvation of Israel. Bennett said: “Our Father in heaven, the rock of Israel and its Savior, bless the state of Israel, the beginning of our salvation. Protect it with your grace, and bestow upon it a covering of peace, and send Your light and truth to its ministers and advisers. Grant them Your divine good-advice. Strengthen the hands of the defenders of the holy land, that is you, and grant them our God salvation and a crown of victory, and You granted peace in the Land (Israel) and eternal joy to its residents.”