Israeli Airstrikes Hit Targets Near Damascus, Two Syrian Soldiers Wounded

The airstrikes were launched by Israeli warplanes over northern Israel

Israeli airstrikes hit targets near the Syrian capital of Damascus on Monday night, wounding two Syrian soldiers, Syrian news agency SANA reported.

The SANA report said some missiles were intercepted and that the strikes caused some damage but didn’t specify what the targets were. It said the Israeli Air Force launched the airstrikes from over the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel.

According to The Times of Israel, Israelis filmed IAF jets flying over northern Israel around the time of the strikes. Israel frequently bombs Syria but rarely comments on its operations in the country and has not acknowledged the Monday night airstrikes.

Earlier this month, Israeli airstrikes were reported in southern Syria, although they weren’t confirmed by Syrian media. But a few hours after the reported strikes, the Israeli military dropped threatening leaflets in the area, warning Syrian soldiers against cooperation with Israel.

Last week, the head of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said Israel was responsible for the bombing of a truck convoy in November that was entering Syria from Iraq in a rare Israeli acknowledgment of an individual airstrike in Syria.

Israel frames its operations in Syria as operations against Iran and Hezbollah, but Israeli attacks often kill Syrian soldiers and damage civilian infrastructure. This year, Israel launched multiple airstrikes against the Aleppo and Damascus international airports.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.