Israeli Drones Target Hezbollah Targets in Syria

Hezbollah says no casualties, as targets managed to escape

Israeli drones fired a pair of missiles at a vehicle in southern Syria on Wednesday, near the Syria-Lebanon border. Israel said that the attack targeted Hezbollah members, though early indications are that there were no Hezbollah casualties.

Israel has been accusing Hezbollah of having a growing presence in southern Syria, and it’s inevitable that they’d attack them militarily, as they have with other Shi’ite groups inside Syria. Hezbollah emphasized that its members managed to escape this attack.

Israel has argued that the entrenchment of Hezbollah and Iranian Shi’ites by Syria’s government poses a threat to Israel’s long-term military interests in the region.  Since Israel is keen to attack Shi’ite groups at any opportunity, this likely lays out the case for more Israeli strikes going forward.

Syrian state media confirmed the attack by Israel, but did not say Hezbollah members were in the vehicle. They said the strike caused material damage to the civilian vehicle but emphasized everyone survived.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.