Israel accused of new Syrian airstrike, admits to over 200 strikes since 2017

Syrian state media on Tuesday claimed Israel attempted to strike a military facility in the western portion of the war-torn nation.

By: TPS

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) accused Israel of being responsible for the Tuesday evening attack on a military facility near Hama in western Syria.

According to SANA, Syrian anti-aircraft missiles shot down missiles “launched by the Israeli Air Force”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the target of the attack was an Iranian military facility.

Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF revealed that it has carried out roughly 200 strikes in Syria over the past year and a half. According to the IDF, the attacks made use of over 800 missiles and bombs that were dropped on selected sites, mostly from fighter jets.

The revelation was made as part of a special assessment of the IDF’s readiness to deal with security threats, which IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot presented to Israel’s Security Cabinet on Tuesday.

Aside from the aerial strikes against Hezbollah and Iranian targets in Syria, methods of cyber warfare were also employed, but their details remain classified. The document also stated that the IDF commanders are pleased with the increasing American involvement in the region to prevent the establishment of a Shiite axis in Syria.

As for the situation on Israel’s southern front, the document reveals that the IDF assesses that a military conflict with Hamas in Gaza is far more likely than a ceasefire deal which would also lead to disarmament and rehabilitation of the Gaza strip. However, the IDF claims it is prepared for such a situation.

“The IDF is at a high level of readiness for war in any scenario,” Chief of Staff Eizenkot wrote in the conclusion of the document.

“As the person responsible for the military’s preparedness for war, I can say that the IDF is prepared for any mission required. [We have] military, … aerial and intelligence superiority, ground capabilities and rich operational experience.”