State media in Syria reported that Israel launched another strike on its territory late last night.
Air defenses deployed by the Syrian Armed Forces “repelled an Israeli missile aggression on southern region, shooting down most of the hostile missiles,” reported the SANA news agency, in an attack that occurred at 10:42 PM from the direction of the Golan Heights “with air-to-surface and surface-to- surface missiles against some targets” in the vicinity.
The strike is believed to have been launched south of the city of Quneitra against operatives belonging to the Hezbollah terror group, who are based in Lebanon but fighting in Syria on behalf of the Assad regime.
The alleged incident came just hours after two Lebanese security sources said an Israeli military drone in its airspace was fired at by Hezbollah. One of the sources said the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) evaded the attack and returned across the border.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit informed TV7 that “the aircraft was not hit and continued its mission as planned.”
Israeli military officials revealed that an investigation has been launched into the circumstances which prompted Hezbollah’s decision to fire anti-aircraft missiles at the Israeli UAV, explaining that had it been hit the IDF would have retaliated against the Iranian-proxy in Lebanon.
Hezbollah, which dominates southern Lebanon, has vowed to bring down Israeli drones breaching Lebanese airspace. The two sides fought a month-long war in 2006.
Earlier this week, the IDF also disputed claims by Hezbollah to have brought down another Israeli drone. According to the Israel’s military, the UAV had fallen inside Lebanon.
Lebanon‘s government regularly files complaints to the United Nations against Israeli violation of its airspace.
Israel is alleged to launch frequent attacks against Iranian troops and its proxy militias in Lebanon and Syria, to prevent the Islamic Republic from permanently entrenching itself just over Israel’s northern frontier. Israeli political and military leaders occasionally assume full credit for attacks on terrorist bases or weapons shipments from Iran to its allies in the region.
Two separate cargo planes operated by Iran’s Air Force and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) reportedly made a stop in Damascus yesterday, while an SAF cargo aircraft flew from Tehran to Latakia.