JERUSALEM, Israel – Syria’s military said Israel struck targets in the country’s south early Thursday morning, killing one Syrian soldier.
A state media report said Israeli missiles fired from the Golan Heights hit southern Syria. The report did not specify exactly where the targets were located. The report said Syria’s air defense system intercepted most of the rockets but admitted that the strikes killed one soldier and caused material damage.
Israel has staged hundreds of attacks on Syrian facilities but rarely comments on reports of its military activities inside the country. However, Israel has acknowledged that it targets Iranian-backed militias like Hezbollah, which has fighters deployed in Syria.
Hezbollah is fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country’s civil war. Israel says it attacks arms shipments believed to be bound for the Iranian-backed militias.
Israel views Iranian entrenchment on its northern border as a red line and justification for strikes on Iranian-linked facilities inside Syria.
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Thursday’s alleged attack came after reports of a rare strike on the port in Latakia last week, which is believed to have targeted a weapons shipment.
Following those reports, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at a press conference, “we’re pushing back on the bad forces of this region day and night… We won’t stop for one second. This happens almost daily.”
The alleged attack also came after The Washington Post reported on Monday that Israel carried out a pair of strikes against alleged Syrian chemical weapons sites in March 2020 and June 2021.
Israel did not comment directly on The Washington Post report. However, Israeli Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern said on Tuesday: “We have a neighbor who has already proved that it doesn’t hesitate to use chemical weapons even against its own people,” he said. “(Syrian President Bashar) Assad must not have chemical weapons.”
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