Israeli army says air raids in southern Syria were a response to an attempt to lay explosives in occupied Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged a tough response to any threats against Israel after it struck Syrian military targets in retaliation for an attempted attack in the occupied Golan Heights.
“We hit a cell and now we hit the dispatchers. We will do what is necessary in order to defend ourselves,” he said on Tuesday during a tour of a military facility in central Israel.
“These are not vain words; they have the weight of the State of Israel and the (military) behind them and this should be taken seriously,” the veteran premier added.
Israel launched air raids on military targets in southern Syria late on Monday. The army said it was retaliating after an attempt to lay explosives in the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967.
Syrian state-run news agency Sana said Israeli helicopters attacked Syrian army positions near Quneitra in the south but caused only material damage. It also said air defences had gone into action near the Syrian capital.
Several Israeli media outlets reported that Monday’s actions were in response to an increased threat from the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has a significant presence in Syria.
In response to an attempted IED attack near the security fence between Syria & Israel last night, we just struck SAF targets in Syria including:
