South Front
Click to see full-size image. Source: the Israeli Air Force.
A series of Israeli airstrikes hit targets near the Syrian capital, Damascus, late on July 5, according to the Ynet news website.
Syrian media didn’t report any attacks or explosions near Damascus. Yent said that the Syrian military did not use air defenses against the airstrikes as it normally does. According to the Hebrew news website, the alleged airstrikes targeted warehouses storing “advanced Iranian weapons.”
If confirmed this would be the second Israeli attack against Syria in less than a week. On July 2, a series of airstrikes hit targets in the outskirts of Homs city. The Syrian military fired missiles at Israeli fighter jets, which launched the airstrikes from the direction of Lebanon.
One of the anti-aircraft missiles penetrated deep into Israel and exploded mid air. In response, the Israeli military targeted an air defense base near the town of al-Qadmus in the northern countryside of Tartus. Four Russian civilian specialists were reportedly wounded nearby.
The reports of a new Israeli attack in Syria came amid ongoing joint Russian-Syrian drills. The air drills, which began on July 5 and were scheduled to last six days, were to “focus on joint air, air defense and electronic warfare operations to counter airstrikes,” the Russian military said.
Israel carried out hundreds of strikes against alleged Iranian weapons storage and personnel deployment positions in Syria over the past decade as a part of a covert military campaign known as “the war between the wars.” Israeli officials have rarely acknowledged responsibility for the attacks.
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