BICOM

The Israeli army fired a Tamuz guided surface-to-surface missile at a Syrian army machine gun position yesterday after a second incident within twenty-four hours in which Israeli soldiers had been targeted by shooting from across the Syrian border.

On Saturday night, an Israeli army jeep was damaged by Syrian gunfire while yesterday morning, an IDF foot patrol near the border came under fire. No injuries were reported in either incident. However, Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner said, “Our understanding is that it wasn’t stray fire.” Channel Ten reported that Israel’s retaliatory fire, aimed at the source of the weekend attacks from Syria, injured two Syrian army soldiers.

Israel’s Defence Minister, Moshe Ya’alon commented, “We take the firing of bullets at IDF forces in Israeli territory very seriously… In response the IDF returned fire in line with the government policy: Any violation of Israeli sovereignty and fire from the Syrian side will be answered with the silencing of the source of fire.”

It is not the first time that Israel has responded to Syrian fire across the Golan Heights border between the two countries. In November, Israel fired a Tamuz missile after a Syrian shell landed near an IDF outpost. When the shooting continued the next day, Israel fired two tank shells at mortar position in Syria. However, Syrian internal fighting has intensified near the Israeli border over recent weeks, with several incidents of stray fire landing in Israeli territory. In addition, the Israeli army last week treated two Syrian fighters injured in the clashes. The Times says that Syrian opposition forces, including Islamist groups, have recently captured a large swath of territory near Israel’s border, increasing concerns of further threats towards Israel.