© AP Photo / SANA / FileThis frame grab from a video provided by the Syrian official news agency SANA shows missiles flying into the sky near Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018.
Israeli fighter jets have pummeled Syrian territory with missiles, targeting dozens of installations belonging to the Syrian Army and Iranian Quds Force, Israel has claimed amid reports of civilian casualties.
Following reports in Syrian state media that air defense systems shot down hostile missiles, destroying the majority of the projectiles before they could reach their targets, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the attack, saying it conducted "wide-scale strikes of Iranian Quds Force & Syrian Armed Forces targets in Syria" on Wednesday night.
The Israeli military said that the massive bombing campaign was in response "
to the rockets fired at Israel by an Iranian force in Syria last night." On Tuesday, the IDF said that its Iron Dome missile shield took down four missiles that were reportedly launched from Syrian territory. All of them were intercepted in the air.
The IDF confirmed that Damascus deployed its air defenses to repel the attack by the Israeli fighter jets, thus defying a warning by Tel Aviv to not attempt to mount any response. The IDF further claimed it destroyed "a number of Syrian aerial defense batteries" as they were activated to thwart the aggression.
Referring to the Syrian government as a "regime," the Israeli military justified the bombardment saying that they hold Damascus responsible for "allowing" attacks against Israel.
While the Israeli armed forces claimed in its statement to have engaged an array of military targets, including command HQs, weapons depots, military bases, and anti-aircraft missiles, Syria's state media reported that the airstrike destroyed at least two residential buildings and led to injuries among civilians.The IDF statement, meanwhile, lacks any mention of "collateral" damage to civilian structures.
Earlier, Syria's state news agency SANA reported that a family have been injured after shrapnel from an Israeli missile hit their house in the town of Sa'sa, southwest of Damascus near the Golan Heights. A father, a mother and their two children were reportedly inside the dwelling at the time.
SANA reported that two family members died in the strike, while several others were injured.Another residential building in Qudsaya, west of Damascus, was also badly damaged by shrapnel, and a girl was reportedly wounded in the strike.
© SANADamages caused by the Israeli aggression on one of the buildings in Qudsayya Suburb, west of Damascus November 19, 2019
Photos released by the agency show shattered glass littered across the ground, gaping holes in place of windows, and wires dangling from concrete debris.
Syrian authorities, meanwhile,
pledged to provide all necessary assistance to those caught up in the strike. Alaa Ibrahim, governor of the Damascus countryside province, said that rescuers managed to save three people trapped under rubble in Sa'sa, adding that ambulances and fire engines were deployed to the hardest-hit areas.
Comment: Syria claims its missile defense shield downed most of the barrage, though fires broke out in several targeted areas. Sputnik
reports:
Several powerful explosions were heard in Damascus as air defenses engaged several hostile targets in the city's southern region around 1:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Approximately 20 blasts occurred in seconds-long intervals that shortened as time passed.
Social media footage from the region shows fires that resulted from the the strikes. Unconfirmed reports say the missiles originated from the Israeli Air Force (IAF).
Additional video from Syrian state media shows the air defenses launching a missile that collides with an adversarial projectile. Syria's state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV reported several missiles were taken down as defense systems countered the attack on Damascus.
Early reports claim the area targeted by the strike is a missile base of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The southern Damascus-area missile defenses' engagement with enemy targets is the latest in a series of strikes carried out between Israel and Syria.
Western propaganda mouthpiece RFE/RL
chimed in, slanting the coverage in Israel's favor:
The Israeli military says it has struck Iranian targets in Syria in what it said was retaliation for rockets fired on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights region.
Fighter jets on November 20 hit targets belonging to the elite Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), including surface-to-air missiles, weapons warehouses, and military bases, the Israeli military said.
Israel has frequently targeted Iranian interests in Syria with hundreds of strikes in a bid to prevent Tehran from establishing a permanent military presence there.
On November 19, Israel said its missile-defense system shot down four rockets fired from Syria toward the disputed Golan Heights, a week after an Israeli air strike targeted a top Palestinian militant based in Syria.
Akram al-Ajouri of the Islamic Jihad group survived the attack but family members were killed.
"Yesterday's Iranian attack towards Israel is further clear proof of the purpose of the Iranian entrenchment in Syria, which threatens Israeli security, regional stability, and the Syrian regime," the Israeli military said.
"Whoever harms us, we will harm them. That's what we did tonight," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, adding that Israel "will continue to aggressively protect Israel's security."
Moscow
deplored Israel's actions as a 'violation of Syrian sovereignty':
Israel's attacks against Syria are a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and only serve to escalate tensions in the region, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
"Recently, the intensity of Israeli rocket and bomb attacks on Syrian territory have increased sharply...This development evokes the most serious concern and opposition in Moscow. We consider it critically important to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and other states in the region."
"In the meantime, Israel's actions only add to tensions and strength the potential for conflict around Syria, and run counter to efforts to normalise the situation, achieve stability in Syria, and see a political settlement reached in this country."
In recent years, Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks in Syria, and dozens more in Lebanon, Gaza, and Iraq against what it has said was an alleged Iranian presence. The Syrian government invited Iranian advisors and Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah into the country during the foreign-backed civil conflict in the country to assist in Damascus's fight against terrorism. Tel Aviv has argued that these forces could be used in an Iranian proxy war against Israel.
With Bibi fighting for his political life, it's hardly likely he is wishing to 'achieve stability in Syria'. Expect more attacks as Israel's internal situation heats up.
Comment: Syria claims its missile defense shield downed most of the barrage, though fires broke out in several targeted areas. Sputnik reports: Western propaganda mouthpiece RFE/RL chimed in, slanting the coverage in Israel's favor: Moscow deplored Israel's actions as a 'violation of Syrian sovereignty': With Bibi fighting for his political life, it's hardly likely he is wishing to 'achieve stability in Syria'. Expect more attacks as Israel's internal situation heats up.