Syrian air defenses "confronted hostile targets" early Thursday morning in two areas – the first in Homs, in the center of the country, and minutes later in Quneitra, on the Syrian Golan Heights near the border with Israel, Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported.
The Syrian army later identified the hostile targets as Israeli warplanes, which allegedly launched "a number of missiles" from Lebanese airspace.
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Other Arab media outlets attributed the attacks to Israel as well. According to a report in Lebanon, the missiles destroyed targets in Homs. Meanwhile, a different report identified the target of the attack as a missile shipment earmarked for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Among other targets that supposedly attacked, according to the reports, were Syrian army bases, including a military airport used by Hezbollah forces in the country that was allegedly attacked by Israel in May 2018.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the airstrikes targeted the Shayrat and Dabaa air bases in Homs.
Following the alleged airstrikes in Homs, SANA reported that air defenses engaged enemy missiles fired at targets located in the southwestern Quneitra province – where Israel has recently increased its attacks. According to SANA, the missiles were fired by Israeli aircraft over the Golan Heights.
Last Thursday, Arab media outlets reported that an Israeli drone assassinated a senior Hezbollah operative in charge of creating an Iranian-backed terrorist network on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, presumably in order to make that area a theater of operation against Israel.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Imad at-Tawil was killed after his car was hit from the air. Russian media said witnesses on the ground saw intense activity by Israeli aircraft nearby.
According to reports, Israel's "campaign between wars" has also included strikes against Iranian efforts to build a land corridor linking Iraq to Syria for the purpose of transferring weapons and fighters.
The reported Israeli strikes in recent years represent the tip of a very large iceberg. For every reported preventive action taken by Israel, it can be assumed that there are many more that go unreported and remain unknown to the general public.
Israel is determined not to allow Iran to build drone bases, missile factories and proxy terrorist networks with which to threaten its citizens, and the Israeli Air Force operates around the clock to monitor and disrupt emerging threats.
Israel's overall strategic objective in these strikes was spelled out by Mossad Director Yossi Cohen hours after an alleged July 1 attack, when he stated at a conference in Herzliya: "I believe that Iran will reach the conclusion that it is just not worth it."
