© RuptlyScreen shot from a footage showing large explosion at a Syrian military base in the province of Hama following reports of a missile attack
The following article is a series of Tweets made by Al-Ackbar journalist, Firas al-Shoufi.
1. Initial reports indicate the missiles used by Israel tonight in the attacks on Hama and Aleppo were bunker buster munitions - missiles that have the ability to penetrate underground targets.
2. The impact of the Israeli attacks was so intense, it resulted in an earth tremor measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale.
3. There are several casualties, both Syrian and Iranian martyrs in these latest attacks.
4. Through these strikes, and the previous ones, Israel is trying to provoke Iran into a reaction and thus a direct confrontation before the US makes a formal decision on cancelling the Nuclear Deal.
5. Israel is trying to embarrass Iran- if Iran retaliates it will lose the support/backing of the Europeans regarding the deal, but if it does not respond then Israel has been able to change the rules of the game on the Syrian battlefield, exposing Iranian bases and military strength.
6. At the same time, the US is very unhappy with the recent Syrian government advances. Today the government announced a deal with the militants near Yarmouk, while also sending troops to recapture Rastan and Talbisi. Plus they tried to take villages from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
7. This is bad for the US - these advances show the Syrian government is not keen on negotiations anymore. The US wants to negotiate the future of the areas under opposition control while the Syrian government is making gains through military means.
8. Israel is angry at the prospect of Russia potentially providing S-300's to the Syrian government - which would limit Israel's freedom of movement in Syrian airspace - but at the same time their repeated strikes on Syrian army bases are leaving the Russians with little choice.
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