JERUSALEM, April 8 (Portal) – Israeli jets struck Syrian military targets on Sunday in response to rockets fired at Israeli-controlled territory overnight, Israel’s military said, as violence flared up again after cross-border gun battles during the week.
State media in Syria reported explosions near the capital Damascus, as Israel said its forces continued to strike Syrian territory after six rockets were fired into the Golan Heights overnight.
Israel said artillery and drone strikes hit the rocket launchers, followed by air strikes on a Syrian army compound, military radar systems and artillery posts.
The Israeli military “holds the State of Syria responsible for all activities on its territory and will not allow any attempts to violate Israeli sovereignty,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
The Syrian Defense Ministry said its air defenses responded to the Israeli attacks and intercepted some Israeli missiles. No casualties were reported, only property damage was caused by the strikes.
Sirens had previously sounded near towns in the Golan Heights as rockets were fired from Syrian territory, but no damage or casualties were reported. Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed the 1,200 square kilometer territory in 1981, a move that went unrecognized by most of the international community.
Only three of the rockets crossed Israeli-controlled territory, with two falling in open terrain and a third being intercepted by air defense systems, the military said.
Al Mayadeen TV of Lebanon said the rocket salvoes were claimed by Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
More than 30 rockets were fired at Israel from southern Lebanon on Thursday, prompting cross-border counterattacks by Israel on sites linked to the Islamist movement Hamas in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
The cross-border exchange came amid soaring tensions between Israel and Palestinian groups after Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in recent days, sparking outrage in the Arab world.
Israel said the operations were aimed at driving out groups of so-called extremists who had barricaded themselves inside the mosque, armed with firecrackers and stones.
But the raids during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan sparked angry reactions and concerns even among Israel’s US allies. Cell phone footage from inside the mosque shows police beating worshipers.
The site in Jerusalem’s Old City, sacred to both Muslims and Jews who know it as the Temple Mount, has long been a flashpoint, particularly over the issue of Jewish visitors opposing a ban on non-Muslim prayer on the mosque grounds.
Clashes there in 2021 helped spark a 10-day war between Israel and Hamas. Recent cross-border firefights have brought back memories of that conflict.
Despite fears of further violence around the mosque on Saturday, there were no reports of serious unrest during the night.
In another incident, a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces during a confrontation in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military and the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
Reporting by James Mackenzie and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Additional reporting by Moaz Abd-Alaziz in Cairo; Edited by Angus MacSwan and William Mallard
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