Israel Strikes Syrian Army Position Near Golan Heights Border

Israel strikes Quneitra, near Syrian border with Golan Heights

By ALEX WINSTON

Syria accused Israel of attacking a Syrian Army position in Tel Bariqa west of Quneitra on the Syrian Golan Heights on Thursday afternoon.

According to Syria’s official news agency SANA a missile struck the position, causing material damage but no casualties. Hebrew-language media reported residents of the Israeli Golan Heights heard loud explosions.

While daytime strikes by Israel are rare, according to the Saudi news TV channel Al Majd Hadith reported that the target of the strike were Hezbollah militants who had earlier been seen in the area.

While it remains unclear whether the strike was carried out by air or via a surface-to-surface missile, Israel has remained mum on the alleged strike. But the Jewish State has made it clear that it won’t accept Hezbollah’s growing presence in the Syrian Golan.

The past two weeks has seen alone saw two deadly attacks against Iranian proxies in southern Syria attributed to Israel. Last week, an explosion killed Hezbollah operative Mashour Zidan in southern Syria and a few days later a rocket struck the strategic Tel Haraa site not far from where Zidan was killed as well as other targets in the Quneitra province.

“The Hezbollah terrorist organization has begun an attempt to establish and entrench a covert force in the Syrian Golan Heights that is designed to act against Israel when given the order,” the IDF said.

The Golan Project has its headquarters in Damascus and the Lebanese capital of Beirut there are tens of operatives operating in the Syrian towns of Hadar, Quinetra and Erneh who collect intelligence on Israel and military movement on the Israeli Golan Heights.

But the strikes against Iranian proxies are no longer restricted to Syria. According to the London-based Asharq al-Awsat, Israel allegedly struck an Iranian warehouse at Camp Ashraf northeast of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad which stored arms and missiles twice in the past month, once on July 19 and once on July 27th by an Israeli F-35i Adir stealth fighter jet.