Iran will suffer dire consequences if it threatens Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu warned as he ordered illustrative air raids in Syria, reminding voters in the looming snap elections of his firm stance on the occupied Golan Heights.
In a rare public acknowledgement of Israeli cross-border operations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted on Sunday of personally ordering airstrikes against Syrian military positions. As a demonstration of Tel Aviv’s readiness to respond with “great force to any aggression,” the IAF pounded Syrian Army artillery batteries, observation posts, and air defense units, killing three soldiers and wounding seven others – in retaliation for two rockets allegedly launched from the Syrian side.
While we do not make light of Iran's threats, neither are we deterred by them because anyone who tries to hurt us will be hurt far worse.
Mere hours after Netanyahu’s passionate speech, the Syrian Arab Air Force’s Tiyas Airbase was targeted in another air raid. At least one Syrian soldier was killed and two others were wounded in the attack, which military sources also blamed on Israel.
Damascus, which views the raids as a blatant violation of its sovereignty, repeatedly accused Israel of helping and boosting the morale of the remaining terrorists in Syria. Sunday’s raid corresponded with “successive terrorist attacks in the northern suburbs of Hama and Idlib,” Sana reported.
Israel seems to have intensified its cross-border intrusions, inspired by US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, while the rest of the world continues to dispute the occupation, analysts told RT.
“Israel responded so quickly because they want to preserve the status quo of the Israeli occupation,” Ali Rizk, a Middle East-based journalist and writer told RT. “Israel has no right to be on the Golan Heights in the first place.”
“Not many countries would follow the US in recognition of Jerusalem and the Golan heights,” Rizk added. “These steps taken by Washington benefit primarily Netanyahu – still he is up for re-election anyway.”
“We see a continued campaign of strikes, counter-strikes and retaliation. Both sides play more for politics; it is not only the Israeli side,” journalist Martin Jay told RT. “Israel’s enemies would not be there in the first place if not for the US foreign policy failures.”
The Israeli military has confirmed striking “a number” of Syrian Army targets in cross border raids that, according to Damascus, left at least three soldiers dead and seven others wounded.
"Israeli warplanes and combat helicopters attacked several military targets belonging to the Syrian army, including two artillery batteries, a number of observation and intelligence posts on the Golan Heights front," the IDF said in a rare press release, noting that it also targeted Syrian Army air defense posts.
The raids came in response to two rockets, allegedly fired from Syrian territory into Hermon in the northern Golan Heights on Saturday night, the IDF explained, posting a video of the attack.
Earlier, Syrian state media said that at least three soldiers were killed and seven others were wounded in two consecutive attacks on the Damascus and eastern Quneitra countrysides, even though the Syrian air defenses allegedly managed to intercept most of the missiles.
Syrian air defense forces have engaged IAF warplanes on numerous occasions throughout the course of the years-long conflict. Earlier this week, the Israeli military said it attacked a Syrian anti-aircraft position after an Israeli warplane came under fire. Damascus views Israeli cross border intrusions as direct violations of its sovereignty and has repeatedly asked the UN to step in and intervene to stop the attacks.
Typically, Tel Aviv justifies its raids as a necessary measure to contain Iran’s presence inside Syria, as well as that of militia groups like Hezbollah, who both fight alongside the Syrian government. This time, however, the IDF made no mention of the ‘Iranian threat’ and openly admitted to striking Syrian Arab Army targets.
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