Surface-to-surface and airstrikes reported on Tal al-Hara and Quneitra shortly after midnight; IDF refuses to comment on reports; Targets included Iranian weapons caches and Syrian army sites; Syria to UNSC: The Israeli occupation entity still launches attacks on Syria to offer support to the terrorist organizations…
Israeli military strikes were reported in Syria overnight targeting the Daraa province outside of Damascus, a stronghold for Iranian forces that overlooks part of the Golan Heights in Israel. It is Israel’s second strikes on Iranian targets in Syria this month.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strikes were reported on Tel al-Hara, Syrian media claiming surface-to-surface missiles were launched from Israel’s Golan Heights. Syrian media then claimed there were strikes in Quneitra, close to Israel’s border. Syrian army missile defense systems were activated in response, and damages were reported with no casualties. Airstrikes were also reported.
Reports claim the strikes targeted Syrian army positions as well as Iranian weapon depots. Mixed sources claim both Hezbollah and Iran Revolutionary Guards targets were hit in the strikes close to Israel’s borders.
The IDF refused to comment on the events, as with the majority of its covert operations in Syria and Lebanon. The IDF has been clear that any attacks or threats to its sovereignty are red lines, as is Iran’s entrenchment in Syria.
Israel last carried out airstrikes in Syria earlier this month on Homs outside of Damascus with reports claiming as many as 16 deaths, 9 of which were “foreign militants,” most likely Iranian or Hezbollah forces. The Syrian army confirmed the strikes, and released the statement, “Our air defenses intercepted hostile missiles fired by Israeli warplanes from the Lebanese airspace towards some of our military positions in Homs and the surroundings of Damascus.” It claimed it was able to down several Israel Air Force missiles.
Addressing the UN Security Council, Syria’s permanent representative at the UN accused Israel of supporting terrorists through its ongoing airstrikes in Syria and referred to Israel’s “occupation of Arab land… and the Golan Heights” as “the most dangerous challenge to the credibility and prestige of the international law’s rules and conventions.” He claimed on Tuesday, “The Israeli occupation entity still launches attacks on Syria to offer support to the terrorist organizations, the latest of which caused the martyrdom of 4 civilians, among them a baby, and injured 21 others, the majority of them were women and children,” in reference to strikes earlier this month.