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Syrian missile launched into Israel, fragments scattered in Tel Aviv

“Dear neighbors, on the front lawn is an object that seems to be a part of a Syrian missile,” one WhatsApp group read. 

By Tobias Siegal, World Israel News

Debris from a Syrian anti-aircraft missile were found scattered in Tel Aviv on Friday, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed.

“A surface-to-air missile was launched overnight from Syria to Israeli territory. The missile exploded above the sea,” an IDF statement read. “This morning, residents of central Israel located a number of the missile’s fragments scattered on the ground.”

The statement noted that according to the current policy, a rocket alarm is not set off when a missile explodes above the sea, explaining many reports that came in overnight of residents hearing loud explosions.

“Dear neighbors, on the front lawn is an object that seems to be a part of a Syrian missile. A police sapper is currently here, please don’t approach the area,” one WhatsApp group of concerned neighbors in Tel Aviv read, according to Maariv.

The IDF thanked the residents for their vigilance and noted that Israel Police’s Bomb Disposal Unit has collected the remaining fragments.

According to Israeli media, the missile that was located is an SA-5 missile manufactured in Russia that explodes when it hits a targets or runs out of fuel.

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The missile was most likely launched as a response to an Israeli airstrike carried out Thursday night against several targets near Damascus, according to SANA, the Syrian Arab news agency.

The attack reportedly targeted Syrian military sites being used by pro-Iranian militias, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Similar incidents have happened before. The most recent one took place two weeks ago, when following reports of an Israeli airstrike near Damascus, Home Front alarms went off near the Dead Sea. The IDF concluded that the incident was the result of a missile that was launched from Syria due to the alleged airstrike and landed in Jordan, causing the alarms to go off.