Israel Air Force Hits Syrian Missile Launcher
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JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israel Air Force attacked and incapacitated a missile launcher deep in Syria after it fired a surface-to-air missile toward Israeli military jets.
The Syrian missile was fired Sunday morning at Israel Air Force jets during a “routine flight” over Lebanon, the IDF said.
Israeli fighter jets responded by firing bombs at the missile launcher, located near Damascus. The fighter jets all returned safely to their bases and the launcher was rendered inoperable, according to the IDF.
The IDF said that while it does not intend to escalate tensions between Israel and Syria, the targeting of Israeli jets required retaliation
“We see the Syrian regime as responsible for all the firing carried out from its territory, which is a clear Syrian provocation and we will not allow it,” said IDF Spokesman Brig.- Gen. Ronen Manlis said. “We reserve the freedom of action, but for us the incident is over and there is no intention of escalation.”
Israel reportedly updated Russia about the attack and retaliatory strike as it was taking place.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu was scheduled to arrive for a planned visit to Israel later on Monday.
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