Israel Launches Airstrikes in Syria, Damascus Says Two Killed

Two civilians were killed and a number of people were injured in an Israeli attack on the Syrian capital of Damascus, Syrian state media said on Wednesday.

Israel attacked Iranian and Syrian military targets in Syria on Wednesday in what it said was retaliation for rockets fired toward Israel the day before, IDF spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Avichay Adraee said.

Syria’s air defenses were able to destroy most of the missiles fired by Israeli jets over the capital Damascus before they reached their targets, Syria’s state news agency SANA said, quoting a military source.

The IDF said its missile defense system shot down four rockets fired from Syria toward Israel on Tuesday.

“Warplanes raided dozens of military targets belonging to the Iranian Quds Force and the Syrian Army inside Syrian territory, including surface-to-air missiles, headquarters, weapons depots and military bases, in response to yesterday’s rocket fire from Syria towards Israel,” Adraee said on Twitter.

The elite Quds Force is the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

Israel says it has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria against Iranian targets trying to establish a permanent military presence there and against advanced weapon shipments to Tehran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

“Yesterday’s Iranian attack on Israeli territory by firing missiles is the best proof of Iran’s real cause in Syria. The Iranian position poses a threat to Israel‘s security, stability in the region, and the Syrian regime,” Adraee said.