Authorities signal a sharp
escalation of Israel’s involvement in Syria’s bloody civil war. Syrian state
media reported that Israeli missiles struck a military and scientific research
centre near Damascus and caused casualties. The Syrian government accused
Israel of hands to helping al-Qaida Islamist “terrorist” and said the strikes
“open the door to all possibilities. A series of powerful explosions rocked the
outskirts of Damascus early Sunday morning,
If true, it would be the second Israeli airstrike in Syria
in two days and the third this year.
Iran and Hezbollah have both backed President Bashar
al-Assad in the Syrian civil war, now in its third year. But as fighting in
Syria escalates, they also have a powerful interest in expediting the delivery
of advanced weapons to Hezbollah in case Mr. Assad loses his grip on power and
Syria ceases to be an effective channel for funnelling weapons from Iran.
Syria and its patron Iran hinted at possible retribution,
though the rhetoric in official statements appeared relatively silenced.
Despite new concerns about a regional war, Israeli officials
signalled they will keep trying to block what they see as an effort by Iran to
send sophisticated weapons to Lebanon's Hezbollah militia ahead of a possible
collapse of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.
Israel has repeatedly declared to intervene in the Syrian
civil war to stop the transfer of what it calls "game-changing"
weapons to Hezbollah, a Syrian-backed group that battled Israel to a stalemate
during a month long war in 2006.
Since carrying out a lone airstrike in January that
reportedly destroyed a shipment of anti-aircraft missiles headed to Hezbollah,
Israel had largely stayed on the sidelines. That changed over the weekend with
a pair of airstrikes, including an attack near a sprawling military complex
close to the Syrian capital of Damascus early Sunday that set off a series of
powerful explosions.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck at least one target
inside Syria between Thursday evening and Friday morning. US officials told on
Friday that the target was likely "related to delivery systems for
chemical weapons" that were destined for Hezbollah. On Saturday.
Senior Defence Ministry official Amos Gilad denied the
confirmation, however. "I don't know what or who confirmed what, who are
these sources?
Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Ja'afari,
denied knowledge of the attack, as he told Reuters, "I'm not aware of any
attack right now."