Israel Carried Out Airstrikes Against Iranian Targets In Syria
Airstrike in Syria in September 2018. Image by Getty Images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — An unnamed Israeli official confirmed that Israel carried out airstrikes in Syria, hitting several Iranian targets.
The airstrikes late on Tuesday night hit Iranian arms storage facilities and arms depots, used to ship the weapons to the terrorist Hezbollah organization in neighboring Lebanon.
The Israeli official also said that the airstrikes had destroyed a Syrian anti-aircraft battery used to fire on Israeli planes. Three Syrian soldiers were reported to have been injured in the airstrikes.
As it agreed, Israel informed Russia, which is operating in Syria, ahead of the airstrikes, the official said. Russia criticized Israel over the airstrikes, saying it had endangered two civilian flights landing at the Damascus and Beirut airports. The official blamed Syrian anti-aircraft fire for the danger to the flights.
The official also told reporters that Iranian forces are operating in Syria less 50 miles from the Israeli border, despite assurances from Russia that they are not that close.
Israel’s military has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the airstrikes, as is its standard procedure. Israel has admitted to carrying out dozens of airstrikes in Syria in recent years, to prevent the rise of Iran and to prevent it from sending weapons to Hezbollah.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
