After anti-aircraft missile fired into Israeli territory: Israel bombs Syria again

A defensive missile is said to have been fired at Israel from Syria. The Israeli army responded by attacking positions of the Syrian army.

The Israeli Air Force said it attacked a Syrian air defense position after an anti-aircraft missile was allegedly fired from there into Israeli territory. A military spokesman said Israeli warplanes had also bombed other targets in the area.

Syrian state media had reported that Syrian air defenses had intercepted several Israeli missiles. The missiles flew over Lebanon's capital Beirut and hit near the Syrian city of Homs, Syrian media quoted a statement from the military. Only material damage had been caused.

Residents in central and southern Israel reported hearing a powerful explosion. As footage showed, fragments of a surface-to-air missile from a Russian S-200 system had hit Rahat. The city is located about 230 kilometers from Israel's border with Syria and 415 kilometers from Homs.

In February 2022, sirens sounded in northern Israel and in some settlements in the West Bank after a Syrian anti-aircraft missile exploded over the area and its shrapnel fell on Israeli territory.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on targets in Syria in recent years. The last suspected attack on Syria took place on June 14 near the capital Damascus, injuring one soldier. The Syrian authorities have repeatedly condemned the Israeli attacks, saying that they violate the country's sovereignty as well as international law. According to its own statement, Israel wants to prevent Iran and its allied militias from expanding their military influence in Syria.

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