Israeli fighter jets buzz Syrian troops to keep them away from Druze areas
Israeli airstrike in Syria (Photo: Social media)
Israel struck a Hamas terror cell in southern Syria and a command center of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Damascus in the past days, Israeli media reported.
The Hamas cell was struck by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday after planning to carry out terror attacks in the Israeli Golan Heights, Channel 12 News reported Wednesday evening.
On Thursday, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed a PIJ target in Damascus was hit. The IDF added that it was used to plan and direct terror against Israel.
“Wherever terrorist activity is organized against Israel, the leader of the extremist Islamic group, Jolani [Syria’s president al-Shara], will find the Air Force planes circling above him and attacking the terrorist targets. We will not allow Syria to become a threat to the State of Israel,” Katz declared.
Associated Press later cited a PIJ member who said the strike hit the abandoned house of the group’s leader, Ziyad al-Nakhalah. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that one person was killed in the strike.
The strikes came amid Israel’s increasing involvement in southern Syria.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the delivery of 10,000 aid packages to the Druze community in the region, days after Katz said Israel would issue work permits for the Israeli Golan Heights to Syrian Druze.
Following the fall of the Assad regime and the takeover of the government by the Islamist terror group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the IDF to take precautions and has since declared Israel’s desire to keep the whole of southern Syria a demilitarized zone.
In addition, several Israeli leaders have reiterated that Israel would not allow any harm to the Druze community in the area, which is concentrated in the province of Suweida in an area known as the “Druze Mountain.”
Underlining this message, Channel 12 reported this week that the Israeli Air Force several times scrambled fighter jets that conducted low overflights in southern Syria, signaling that Israel would not accept government troops in the Druze areas.
Israel is said to keep in close contact with Druze leaders, and the pilot project enabling Syrian Druze to work in Israel is expected to start next week.
The strike against Hamas was part of a wave of airstrikes against weapons depots and infrastructure in southern Syria. The wave of airstrikes involved 22 fighter jets that dropped over 60 munitions on dozens of targets across southern Syria.
According to an IDF statement, targets included radar systems and detection equipment used to build an aerial intelligence picture, headquarters, and military sites containing weapons and equipment belonging to the former Assad regime.
“The presence of these assets in southern Syria poses a threat to the State of Israel and IDF operations. These targets were attacked to eliminate future threats,” the IDF stated.
Following the operation, Israel reportedly conveyed a stern message to the new regime in Damascus, warning that it “will not be immune” if it allows terrorist activities against Israel.
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