“We have started striking Iranian Quds targets in Syrian territory. We warn the Syrian Armed Forces against attempting to harm Israeli forces or territory,” the IDF stated.
By Associated Press and World Israel News Staff
In a very unusual move, the Israeli military issued a statement saying it was attacking Iranian military targets in Syria. It also warned Syrian authorities not to retaliate against Israel.
The army issued the statement early Monday, hours after Israel carried out a rare daylight air raid near the Damascus international airport.
“We have started striking Iranian Quds targets in Syrian territory. We warn the Syrian Armed Forces against attempting to harm Israeli forces or territory,” the IDF stated.
Until now Israel has largely refrained from public admissions of military operations in neighboring Syria.
On Sunday, the Iron Dome defense system intercepted an incoming missile over the Golan Heights following the strike near the Damascus airport.
“We have a permanent policy: To strike at the Iranian entrenchment in Syria and hurt whoever tries to hurt us. This policy does not change whether I am in Israel or on an historic visit to Chad. This policy is permanent,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Sunday in Chad, where he was on a historic visit to renew diplomatic relations with the Muslim-majority African nation.