Israeli air force fighter jets, attack helicopters and other attack aircraft conducted airstrikes in southern Syria late on August 3, Monday. Israel claimed that the airstrikes were in retaliation to an attempted attack on Sunday along the northern Israel-Syria border in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Syrian government is yet to confirm the specific locations targeted by the Israeli bombings. The official Syrian SANA news agency stated that the airstrikes caused significant material damage to Syrian government property, adding that no Syrians, civilian or military, were injured.
Syrian state media later confirmed the airstrikes on Syrian territory on Monday, and reported that Syrian air defense systems were activated to shoot down the incoming Israeli missiles on their way to hit targets southwest of capital Damascus. According to the Israelis, the targets of the airstrikes included Syrian observation posts, intelligence gathering equipment, anti-aircraft cannons, and command-and-control infrastructure.
The Israeli military attributed Sunday’s alleged bomb-planting operation to an ‘Iranian proxy militia, without presenting any evidence to justify the claim. Israel also said that it holds the Syrian government responsible for all such activities on Syrian soil, adding that it will continue to retaliate against such acts despite the international law related to attacking a neighboring country and violating its sovereignty.
Israel has previously conducted such attacks inside Syria on several occasions in the recent past using similar justifications with no evidence. Just last month, Israel targeted “military targets” in southern Syria citing “munitions fire” towards Israel, allegedly emanating from Syria.
