Israel says it strikes Iranian targets in Syria

JERUSALEM, Nov 20 (XINHUA/APP):Israeli fighter jets attacked “dozens” of sites in Syria in “a wide-scale” airstrike on Wednesday, retaliating rocket fire from Syria a day before, the Israeli military said.

The military issued a statement saying the predawn strikes targeted sites belonging to the Iranian Quds Forces and the Syrian army near Damascus and in southwest Syria, near its disputed border with Israel.

The targets included surface-to-air missiles, headquarters, weapons warehouses, and military bases, and several Syrian aerial defense batteries were destroyed in the airstrikes, according to the military.

The Syrian army said in a statement that the Israeli fighter jets arrived from the Golan Heights and the Lebanese Marj Oyoun area.

“Our air defenses were able to intercept the hostile missiles, destroying most of them before reaching their targets,” read the statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were a retaliation for four rockets that had been launched from Syria toward Israel on Tuesday. Israel’s aerial defense systems intercepted the rockets.

Israel believed an Iran-backed Shiite militia was behind the rocket fire.

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The Israeli army said in a statement that it “holds the Syrian regime responsible for actions taken in its territory and warns it from operating or allowing hostilities against Israel,” adding that further rockets will be answered with “a severe response.”

“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will continue operating firmly and resolutely against the Iranian entrenchment in Syria,” the statement read, adding that the military is prepared for “various scenarios.”

Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said that the airstrikes sent a message to Iran that “the rules have changed, Whoever shoots at Israel during the day does not sleep at night.”

The strikes further highlight an ongoing shadow war between Israel and Iran in Syria. Clashes between the two enemies have escalated over the past months. Israel accuses Iran of entrenching itself near the Israeli border.

Israel has carried out “hundreds” of airstrikes in Syria, against Iranian targets and convoys transporting weapons to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese militia.

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