BICOM

Israel confirmed that it launched an air strike on Syrian territory yesterday after a terror cell infiltrated the border between the two countries to plant an explosive device. Additional, unconfirmed reports, suggest that a further strike was launched over the weekend targeting Syrian weapons transfers to Hezbollah.

Yesterday’s incident occurred at around 9.30pm when IDF Combat Intelligence spotted four suspects laying explosives on the Israeli side of the border, near a disused IDF post. An IDF statement said that Israeli aircraft “targeted the squad, preventing the attack.” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented via social media, saying, “Any attempt to harm our soldiers and civilians will be met with a determined response like the military action tonight that thwarted a terror attack.”

Israel has remained on the side lines of the Syrian conflict. However, Israeli forces have infrequently responded to cross-border fire, planned attacks and attempts by the Assad regime to smuggle weapons to its Hezbollah allies. Most notably, an apparent Israeli air strike in Syria in January killed prominent Hezbollah figure Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of the late Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh.

On Saturday, Al-Jazeera reported that Israeli aircraft had attacked a position near the Syria-Lebanon border, targeting Syrian government depots known to facilitate the transfer of missiles to Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Al-Arabiya claims that Israeli jets struck Syrian government and Hezbollah arms stocks in a pre-dawn raid this morning in the al-Qalamoun region to the north of Damascus. However, Israeli officials quoted by the Mako news website said that this morning’s incident was not an Israeli raid, but rather a clash in the context of Syria’s Civil War.

The IDF declined to comment on the reports. Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon spoke in general terms yesterday, saying “We will not allow Hezbollah to establish a terror infrastructure on our borders with Syria.” He warned, “We know how to reach [Hezbollah] and those who direct it, at any time and any place.”