Syrian media on Tuesday alleged that Israel mounted three strikes on targets near Damascus overnight. The sites held weapon caches likely earmarked for Hezbollah. The reports were nor corroborated by any Israeli source.
In a statement, the Syrian army said its air defenses had intercepted at least one Israeli missile launched from Lebanese airspace at military outposts in Qutayfeh, a northeastern suburb of Damascus, where Syrian Republican Guard units are known to have major outposts.
The Syrian army also said the IDF fired surface-to-surface missiles from the Golan Heights, and claimed that Syrian defenses downed one of them.
The Syrian army said that in total, several missiles were launched at 2:40 a.m., followed by two more missiles at 3:04 a.m. and four at 4:14 a.m.
It described the attack as a "flagrant Israeli aggression," and reiterated its warning of dangerous repercussions for such attacks, saying it holds Israel "fully responsible for its consequences."
The IDF declined to comment on the matter.
Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, backed by Iran, Hezbollah and Russia, has made significant gains on the battlefield in recent months against insurgent groups.
Israel has insisted it will not ignore Iranian efforts to establish permanent military bases in Syria and its diplomats have delivered messages to that effect to Western and regional leaders.
However, that message has apparently fallen on deaf ears. Not only has Iran continued its efforts to build bases on Syrian soil, it has accelerated them.
In early December, the Syrian military said Israeli warplanes attacked a military base near Damascus, believed to have been earmarked for use by Iranian forces in Syria and local militias loyal to them. A month earlier, foreign media outlets reported that four Israeli raids targeted an ammunition manufacturing plant in the industrial area of Hissia, 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Homs and 112 kilometers (70 miles) north of Damascus.
