Middle EastWar

Israeli air defenses intercept 4 rockets fired from Syria

Israel’s anti-missile defense system intercepted four rockets fired from neighboring Syria on Tuesday, November 19, the Israel Defense Forces said.

“No hits on Israeli communities were identified,” the army added in a WhatsApp message.

Meanwhile, blasts were heard close to Damascus airport in the Syrian capital, the official SANA news agency reported on Tuesday morning.

Around 450 rockets were fired into Israel last week from the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of a military operation against an Islamic Jihad commander, according to the Israeli army, but no rockets were reported to have been fired from Syria.

Baha Abu Al-Ata, who Israel blamed for recent rocket fire into its territory, was killed in a strike on his home in Gaza City.

A ceasefire between Israel and the Islamic Jihad was agreed after 50 hours of clashes, but the deal remains precarious.

On the same day as strikes killed Ata, Syrian state media reported that an Israeli strike hit the home of another Islamic Jihad militant, killing his son and another person.

Islamic Jihad accused Israel of being behind the strike in Damascus. The Israeli army refused to comment.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, targeting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and the regime’s allies Iran and Hezbollah.

The Syrian conflict has killed more than 370,000 people and drawn in world powers since it started with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

At the end of June, six civilians and nine pro-government fighters were killed in Israeli strikes near Damascus and in the central province of Homs, SANA reported.


With reporting from AFP

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