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Israel strikes Iranian targets in Syria - military | Israel strikes Iranian targets in Syria - military |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Israel's military says it has hit Iranian targets inside Syria. | |
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says its operation is against the Quds Force - elite units of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. | The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says its operation is against the Quds Force - elite units of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. |
It provided no details. But there were reports of strikes around the Syrian capital Damascus early on Monday. | |
Syrian media said air defences had repelled "an Israeli aerial attack". On Sunday the IDF said it had intercepted a rocket over the Golan Heights. | |
What do we know about the operation? | What do we know about the operation? |
The IDF announced the start of its operation in a tweet early on Monday. | The IDF announced the start of its operation in a tweet early on Monday. |
Syria's state-run Sana news agency quoted a military source as saying that the country's air defences shot down most of "hostile missiles". | Syria's state-run Sana news agency quoted a military source as saying that the country's air defences shot down most of "hostile missiles". |
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says Israeli rockets were targeting "the vicinity of the capital Damascus". | The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says Israeli rockets were targeting "the vicinity of the capital Damascus". |
Witnesses in Damascus spoke of hearing loud explosions in the night sky. | Witnesses in Damascus spoke of hearing loud explosions in the night sky. |
The SOHR later said the Israeli missiles destroyed weapons depots and military posts belonging to Iran and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. | The SOHR later said the Israeli missiles destroyed weapons depots and military posts belonging to Iran and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. |
The SOHR also said there had been fatalities. | The SOHR also said there had been fatalities. |
Netanyahu's warning | Netanyahu's warning |
Israel rarely admits carrying out attacks on targets inside Syria. | |
The operation comes after Israeli said that "a rocket was fired at the northern Golan Heights and was intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defence System". | The operation comes after Israeli said that "a rocket was fired at the northern Golan Heights and was intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defence System". |
The popular winter tourist site on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights was closed as a result. | The popular winter tourist site on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights was closed as a result. |
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning during his visit to Chad on Sunday. | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning during his visit to Chad on Sunday. |
"We have a set policy, to target the Iranian entrenchment in Syria, and to harm whoever tried to harm us," he said. | "We have a set policy, to target the Iranian entrenchment in Syria, and to harm whoever tried to harm us," he said. |
Israel has expressed alarm at Iran's deployment in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad, who has been battling rebel forces and Islamist groups since the start of the civil war in 2011. | |
In May 2018, Israel said it had struck almost all of Iran's military infrastructure there, following a rocket attack on its positions in the Golan Heights. | |
Israel seized the area from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it. |