An Israeli missile attack targeted Syrian military positions held by the government and its allies early on Wednesday, July 24, Syria’s state news agency said.
The missiles were fired into the south of the country close to the Golan Heights, an area of Syria occupied and annexed by Israel.
“The Israeli enemy launched an aggression after midnight against the Tal al-Harra area,” the SANA news agency said Wednesday, adding that there were reports of damage to property.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, targeting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and the regime’s allies Iran and Hezbollah.
The Syrian conflict has killed more than 370,000 people and drawn in world powers since it started with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
At the end of June, six civilians and nine pro-government fighters were killed in Israeli strikes near Damascus and in the central province of Homs, Sana reported.
Israel says it is determined to prevent its arch-foe Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, where Tehran backs Assad’s regime.
The Jewish state insists that it has the right to continue to target positions held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah out of self-defense.
The strikes came after Hezbollah’s leader said earlier this month that the group’s rockets could reach key Israeli sites along the Mediterranean coast, including Tel Aviv.
Hassan Nasrallah also said that Iran was “able to bombard Israel with ferocity and force” but “will not start a war.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu countered that his country would deliver a “crushing military blow” on both Hezbollah and Lebanon if it were to attack.
With reporting from AFP