Posts
Iranian
Force Launches Missiles at Golan; Syria Says Intercepted Rockets
Launched by Israel
- In first, army attributes attack on Israeli territory to Iran
- Golan residents requested to stay in shelters until warning lifted
- Syrian reports claim Israel struck regime targets in Golan Heights
9
May, 2018
- Syria blames Israel for strike near Damascus; target was Iranian missiles aimed at Israel
- LIVE UPDATES // Israeli intel chief: 'Offensives today can prevent war tomorrow'
- Israel prepares for possible attack: Iron Dome missile defense systems deployed in north
Syrian
reports late Wednesday night said that Israeli missiles were launched
at Syria. The reports, which were not confirmed by Israel, alleged
that Syria has intercepted some of the missiles.
Moments
earlier, a barrage of 20 rockets was fired from Syria towards Israeli
military outposts in the Golan Heights. No injuries were reported.
Several rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense
system.
The
Israeli army is attributing the attack to members of the Quds force
of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
The
military said intelligence assessments earlier in the week
anticipated that after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he
was withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear accord, Israel was likely to
be targeted by rocket fire and Iran would try to retaliate.
Nonetheless,
the army has predicted that such an attack would not lead to a
full-fledged war. Tehran has issued several threats over the past
month, saying that it would hurt Israel in response to a slew of
attacks that were ascribed to the Israeli air force. The latest
attack, carried out on May 9, claimed the lives of seven Iranians in
the Syrian air force base T4.
Over
the past month tensions have been high along the Israeli border with
Syria and the army has increased security measures in the area,
deploying more Iron Dome batteries across the northern region.
After
rocket fire was reported Wednesday night, IDF Spokesperson Ronen
Manelis told reporters that the attack was carried out by members of
the Iranian Quds force and that Israel views the incident gravely.
The army is currently assessing the situation and considering whether
to hand out more instructions to Israeli residents of the area to
fend off should the situation escalate further.
This
is the first time Israel directly accuses Iran of firing towards
Israeli territory. During the Syrian Civil War errant fire struck the
Golan several times; usually local organizations in southern Syria
that are affiliated with Iran, Hezbollah and the Assad regime were
behind those attacks. This Iran-led strike on Israeli territory,
however, is the most extensive of its kind to date.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Wednesday that Israel
has attacked targets of the Syrian military on the outskirts of
Quneitra in the Golan Heights.
Shortly
thereafter siren alerts sounded in communities in the north and
center of the Golan Heights in northern Israel. The Home Front
Command released a reminder on safety regulations to residents of the
area; some reported hearing explosions.
The
Golan Regional Council released a statement saying that several towns
in the Golan were targeted by rocket fire and that residents of those
towns are requested to stay in shelters until notified otherwise
A
U.S. State Department official responded to the escalation on
Wednesday, telling Haaretz that the State Department wishes to
reiterate Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's statement from last week
in which he stressed the U.S.'s support of Israel against the Iranian
threat.
"We
stand with Israel in the fight against Iran’s malign activities and
we strongly support Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself. If
true [evidence provided by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
regarding Iran's nuclear activity in recent years], this only
bolsters our decision to terminate the JCPOA. Iran will have showed
the world it's true intentions. Let there be no doubt."
This
attack comes on the heels of a Syrian report Tuesday accusing Israel
of carrying out an attack on a military base south of Damascus, which
was used by Iranian forces. According to reports, Israeli fighter
jets entered Syrian airspace and struck Iranian missiles aimed at
Israel.
Golan
under Iranian attack. Al Qods units launch 20 rockets at IDF
positions. No casualties
10
May,2018
Iranian
Revolutionary Guards al Qods units launched 20 missiles from Syria at
IDF Golan positions shortly after midnight on Tuesday, May 9. There
were no casualties.
Some of the incoming missiles were intercepted by
Iron Dome batteries. Israel artillery and tanks blasted the sources
of the fire at Baath near Quneitra and Khan Arnaba, where Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards and Hizballah maintain a command center.
The
missiles falling around the IDF’s forward positions on the Golan
border with Syria set off warning sirens just before one a.m.
Civilians were ordered to take shelter in protected areas.
The IDF
issued a communique half an hour later, saying: “We view with
extreme gravity the Iranian missile attack on the Golan and are ready
for a number of different scenarios.”
A short time later, social
media reported that several explosions rocked Damascus, and claimed
that Israeli jets struck several military sites belonging to Bashar
Assad’s forces and the Iranian Al-Qods units near the Syrian
capital. This was not confirmed by any authoritative source.
IDF
orders Golan residents to open shelters
The
military order to open bomb shelters in the Golan follows “a string
of unusual sightings among Iranian forces in Syria” The order
refers to preparations for the firing of missiles from Iranian
positions and stresses that defensive measures are in place and on
maximum readiness.
After
talks with Putin, Netanyahu believes Israel’s freedom to act Syria
is safe
After
spending 10 hours in the company of President Vladimir Putin in
Moscow as his guest of honor, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said
he believes that Israel’s freedom to operate in Syria in its
defense is not in jeopardy. The two leaders attended the annual
Victory March in Moscow on the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s
defeat, during which Netanyahu also paid tribute to the valor of the
war veterans living in Israel. Netanyahu then made this comment to
the Russian President: “It’s hard to believe that 73 years after
the Holocaust, there is a Middle East nation which aspires to wipe
out another six million Jews.”
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