Occupied Jerusalem: The Israeli regime’s military said on Wednesday it launched air strikes targeting Syrian army artillery posts in response to rockets fired the previous day into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said the air force attacked positions in territory controlled by forces loyal to President Bashar Al Assad.
The Israeli strike was a “clear message that we will not tolerate any fire toward Israeli territory,” Yaalon said, referring to the occupied territory.
Two rockets landed in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday and the regime initially responded with artillery fire, the army said. No casualties were reported.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, said the rockets had been fired from Syrian army positions, but it was unclear if the Syrian army fired them or if militants had overran the army position and fired them.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a base in Syria’s Quneitra province adjacent to the Golan Heights was one of the government positions attacked. The Observatory said it was not aware of any casualties. The Observatory obtains its information from a network of activists on the ground.
The exchange came after an air strike last week in Syria attributed to the Israelis that killed six members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and an Iranian general. Israel has declined to comment on any connection to the air strike, but has braced for a response to the strike, beefing up its air defences and increasing surveillance along its northern frontier.
The Israelis occupied the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau, from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it in a move not recognised internationally.
Fighting in neighbouring Syria’s civil war has spilt over to Israeli-held territory in the past. Mortar shells have exploded sporadically inside the territory since the conflict began, sometimes causing minor damage.
Israel believes most fire is errant shots but has at times accused Syria of intentionally firing at Israeli targets. Israeli troops have returned fire on several occasions.
