BICOM

Israel’s security cabinet convened last night for a special session to discuss the latest confrontation with Iran in Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Islamic Republic had “crossed a red line, and we responded accordingly.” He also praised the IDF’s advanced preparations for the failure of the initial Iranian rocket attack on the Golan Heights. “No rocket landed in Israel. The people of Israel are proud of the IDF and confident in its abilities,” he lauded.

Netanyahu said: “I delivered a clear message to the Assad regime: Our action is directed against Iranian targets in Syria. However, if the Syrian military acts against us, we will act against it”.

This morning the Israeli military published pictures of Iranian intelligence installations in Syria that it attacked in response to the 20 rockets fired toward the Golan Heights.

Some of the sites were located at Tel Gharba, Tel Kleb, Nabi Yusha and Tel Maqdad, according to the IDF spokesperson’s unit. The IDF also published pictures of what it said was an Iranian IRGC Quds Force compound in al-Kisweh, south of Damascus, and an “Iranian Logistics Compound” 10km northwest of the capital.

In addition to Iranian targets, the army targeted multiple Syrian air defence systems, including the Russian-made long-range S-200, high altitude S-75, short-to medium-range Pantsir-S1 and the SA-17 medium-range air defence system.

On Thursday night the IDF released footage of its strike on the Pantsir-S1, filmed from the Israeli missile itself as it struck the anti-aircraft battery.

According to an Israeli Air Force (IAF) officer, “Operation House of Cards” was a “complicated mission” due to the limiting weather conditions and “dozens of missiles” targeting IAF planes.

Early Thursday morning the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards fired 20 Fajr-5 and Grad rockets at Israel. In response, Israel hit 70 sites connected to the Quds Force. The Russian defence ministry said it involved 28 planes and killed 23 fighters.