Israel strikes Syrian army in response to rocket fire

The IDF responded to five Syrian rockets that exploded in an open field in northern Israel.

The IDF on Saturday attacked the Syrian military in response to five rockets fired from its territory into the Israeli Golan Heights.

The rockets slammed into Israel early Saturday morning, setting off the emergency alarm system throughout the area, but causing no damage or casualties.

The projectiles appear to be a result of the internal fighting in Syria.

The IDF responded by destroying three Syrian artillery batteries.

“Whether errant fire or not, any future occurrences will force the IDF to intensify its response,” an IDF spokesperson said after the incident.

“The IDF holds the Syrian regime responsible and won’t tolerate any attempt to breach Israeli sovereignty or threaten Israeli civilians’ safety,” the spokesperson added.

The Syrian army claimed that rebels fired the rockets at Israel in order to cause the IDF to act against the Syrian army.

In a statement, the Syrian army said the Israeli attack was on a Syrian military position in the Quneitra Countryside and caused “material damage.”

The statement claimed that “the Israeli aggression” came after “terrorists had launched mortar shells” at Israel “to give the Israeli enemy a pretext to carry out its aggression.”

The statement referrs to longstanding Syrian claims that Israel is behind the six-year-long civil war in the country and that it is backing the anti-Assad rebel groups, specifically the Islamic State (ISIS).

The Syrian army again warned against “dangerous repercussions of such hostile acts, affirming that the Israeli occupation bears full responsibility for the outcomes of that aggression, regardless of the flimsy pretexts which have become divulged and well-known for all.”

The Syrians previously issued similar threats, but have very little ability to carry through with them, as the army is still embroiled in a vicious civil war which has significantly depleted the army’s resources and abilities.

This is the third incident in the past week in which the IDF attacked Syrian military targets.

In one rare incident, Israel’s Air Force (IAF) struck an anti-aircraft battery deep in Syria after it had opened fire on Israeli jets flying over Lebanon.

Relating to that incident on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Syria that Israel would continue to carry out airstrikes as required by Israel’s security needs.

“Our policy is clear – anyone who tries to hurt us, we will hurt them,” Netanyahu stated. “Today, they tried to hit our planes, this is not acceptable.”

“The air force acted with precision, swiftness, and destroyed what needed to be destroyed,” he added. “We will continue to act in the arena as much as needed to defend Israel’s security.”

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

Golan HeightsSyriaSyrian Civil War