IAF hits Syrian air defense battery hours after launch of missile on Israel

IAF hits Syrian air defense battery hours after launch of missile on Israel

Reuters  and ILH Staff

Israeli warplanes targeted a Syrian air defense battery from which an anti-aircraft missile was launched toward Israel, an Israeli military spokesman said early on Sunday. The warplanes also attacked other targets in the area, while no casualties were reported from the Syrian missile, said the spokesman, Avichay Adraee.

Syrian air defenses on Sunday intercepted what it said was an Israeli missile strike across central parts of the country and downed most of the missiles, state media said. An army statement said missiles that flew over parts of Lebanon's capital Beirut hit locations near the city of Homs, resulting only in material damage.

An Israeli military spokesperson said earlier on Twitter that an anti-aircraft missile launched from inside Syrian territory toward Israel exploded in mid-air.  Israel has in recent months intensified alleged strikes on Syrian airports and air bases to disrupt Iran's increasing use of aerial supply lines to deliver arms to allies in Syria and Lebanon, including Lebanon's Hezbollah

The strikes are part of an escalation of what has been a low-intensity conflict that has been going on for years with the goal of slowing Iran's growing entrenchment in Syria, Israeli military experts say.

Tehran's influence has grown in Syria since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that started in 2011. Fighters allied to Iran, including Hezbollah, now hold sway in areas in eastern, southern, and northwestern Syria and in several suburbs around the capital.