Israel has carried out a rocket attack in Syria’s Golan Heights region, according to Syrian state news and the Israeli military.
“An Israeli missile targeted Tel al-Shaar in Quneitra,” the Syrian news agency SANA said, adding that a “military vehicle was targeted and there are wounded.”
An Israeli missile hit Syria’s Quneitra province causing casualties and damaging a military vehicle, Syrian state media said.https://t.co/etngaji6rV
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) May 27, 2019
Israel’s military confirmed the attack in a statement posted on social media on Monday, saying it had been in retaliation for anti-aircraft fire at an Israeli fighter jet earlier on Monday.
It said that the projectile missed a jet during a routine flight in Israel and that the plane completed its journey before the Israeli military “targeted the launcher that had fired” at the jet.
Earlier today, a Syrian anti-aircraft system fired at an IDF aircraft as it was carrying out a routine flight in Israel. The projectile landed in Syrian territory. In response, we targeted the Syrian launcher that was responsible for firing it.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 27, 2019
Israel’s statement came after the Syrian state-owned television channel Al Ekhbariya said one soldier had been killed and another injured in the attack in Quneitra province, which is adjacent to the occupied Golan Heights.
In a video statement on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:
“Our policy is clear – we are not prepared to tolerate any aggression against us, we will retaliate against it forcefully and decisively.”
לפני זמן קצר הצבא הסורי ניסה לפגוע במטוס ישראלי, הוא לא הצליח. חיל האוויר בתגובה השמיד את המשגר שממנו נורתה האש. המדיניות שלנו ברורה – איננו מוכנים לסבול שום תוקפנות נגדנו, ונגיב נגדה בעוצמה ובתקיפות. pic.twitter.com/vGFXaxn4XL
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 27, 2019
Israel does not usually comment on reports concerning its raids in neighboring Syria, though it has recently acknowledged hitting what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets there.
The Israeli air attack comes amid soaring tensions in the region between Israel’s arch-foe Iran and the United States.
Letter from generals, admirals, and diplomats:
"A war with Iran, either by choice or miscalculation, would produce dramatic repercussions in an already destabilized Middle East and drag the United States into another armed conflict at immense…cost."https://t.co/YnnyL1q9vk
— William Ruger (@WillRuger) May 24, 2019
The standoff has been simmering since US President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 nuclear treaty between Iran and several major world powers.
In recent days, the US has accused Iran of alleged threats and last week deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the nearby Gulf.
(Al Jazeera, PC, Social Media)
