The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights


An old Israeli tank sits in a position in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights near the border with Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. At least two rockets launched from Syria struck the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Tuesday and Israel responded with artillery fire, the Israeli military said. The fire comes after an airstrike last week in Syria attributed to Israel that killed six members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and an Iranian general. Israel has braced for a response to that strike, beefing up its air defenses and increasing surveillance along its northern frontier. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Rocket lands in open area in Israeli Golan Heights

The Syrian army’s anti-aircraft defense system was activated early on Sunday against “enemy missiles” fired from Israel at targets in southwest Damascus, the officialSANA news agency quoted a military source as saying.

Ten individuals, including three Syrian soldiers and 7 Iranian and Hezbollah militants were killed by the Israeli strikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said Sunday morning the number of casualties was expected to rise as several injured persons are in critical condition.

“Yesterday night [Saturday], two rockets were launched from Syria towards Mount Hermon in the northern Golan Heights. One of the rockets was located within Israeli territory,” the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)confirmed in a statement. “

The IDF confirmed carrying out retaliatory attacks against “military targets” of Bashar al-Assad’s regime hours after the Syrian strike, targeting “two Syrian artillery batteries, a number of observation and intelligence posts on the Golan Heights and an SA-2 aerial defense battery.”

IDF tweeted what appears to be video footage of the raid.

“During the strikes, an Israeli aerial defense system was activated due to Syrian anti-aircraft shooting,” the IDF continued, adding that “none of the rockets exploded in Israel.

Israeli media reported that the rocket fire was believed to be intentionally targeting Israel, not spillover from the final battles in Syria’s years-long war.

“We are not prepared to tolerate the shooting at our territory, and we react with great force against all aggression against us. This is a consistent policy I lead and we will continue to do for Israels’s security,” said Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who also holds the Defense portfolio.

Earlier this week, Israel said it carried out a retaliatory strike on a Syrian military position in the bordering Quneitra region after an anti-aircraft missile was fired at an Israeli fighter jet in Israeli airspace.

Two weeks ago, Syrian state media claimed that the country’s air defenses intercepted projectiles coming from Israel for the second time in two days.

Israel has admitted to conducting “hundreds of strikes” on Iranian-linked targets on Syrian territory, with the aim to contain Iranian military entrenchment in its northern neighbor.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights released a report in April that said Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory have killed 232 people since April 2018.

Source: i24NEWS – Rocket lands in open area in Israeli Golan Heights, local media reports

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