Israel strikes Syrian military targets in response to rocket attacks from Syria

Israel’s recent air strikes against Syrian military targets are part of a wider regional conflict that has escalated in recent days. The strikes come just hours after six rockets were fired from Syria into Israel, three of which landed on Israeli territory. While there have been no reports of damage in Israeli territory, the strikes against the Syrian military compound mark the latest flare-up in the region.

The rockets were fired in response to Israeli strikes on Palestinian militant targets in southern Lebanon and Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claim that it began striking targets in Syrian territory after the rockets were launched. The statement from the IDF reads, “A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck additional targets in Syrian territory, including a military compound of the Fourth Division of the Syrian Armed Forces, military radars systems and artillery posts used by the Syrian Armed Forces.”

While Syria claimed to have responded to “Israeli air attacks in the southern part of the country” and stated that it had intercepted “some Israeli missiles,” the IDF maintains that it views the state of Syria as responsible for all activities occurring within its territory and will not allow any attempts to violate Israeli sovereignty.

The rocket launches have occurred amidst heightened tensions in the region following Israeli police raids on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. The mosque holds significant religious and cultural importance for Muslims, and Israeli police raids are considered a major provocation. The Israeli police raided the mosque twice last week, claiming that “hundreds of rioters and mosque desecrators (had) barricaded themselves” inside.

Jordan has warned of “catastrophic consequences” if Israeli forces storm the mosque again, with the Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stating that should the Israeli police “assault worshipers again, in an attempt to empty [the mosque] of worshipers, in preparation for major incursions into the mosque,” it would “push the situation towards more tension and violence, for which everyone will pay the price.”

In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has claimed that those who “barricade themselves inside [the al-Aqsa mosque] are a dangerous mob, radicalized and incited by Hamas and other terror organizations.” The ministry has called on Jordan’s Waqf guards, who manage the al-Aqsa mosque compound, to immediately remove these “extremists who are planning to riot during Muslim prayers on the Temple Mount and the Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall.”

In a separate development on Saturday night, the IDF killed a 20-year-old Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank town of Azzoun, according to the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health. The man, Ayed Azam Salim, was shot and killed by live Israeli bullets in the abdomen and chest in the Qalqilya district, according to the ministry.

The situation in the region remains highly volatile, with Israeli-Palestinian tensions continuing to escalate. The recent attacks and counterattacks have raised concerns that the conflict could spread beyond the borders of Israel and Palestine, with neighboring countries getting involved.