Syria | Israeli official confirms airstrikes as Russia objects

An Israeli security official has confirmed responsibility for overnight airstrikes in Syria, saying the air force had hit a series of targets involved in Iranian arms transfers to the Hezbollah militant group.

Russia had criticized the airstrike, saying it endangered civilian flights. The comments highlighted the increasingly tense relations between Israel and Russia, which have grown strained since the September downing of a Russian plane by Syrian forces responding to another Israeli raid.

The Israeli official said the air force had attacked several Iranian targets in three main locations late Tuesday and early Wednesday. He said the targets were primarily storage and logistics facilities used by archenemy Iran to ship weapons to Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese group that fought Israel in a 2006 war.

The Israeli official said it was Syrian air defenses that endangered the civilian planes, by firing 30 missiles in response to the airstrike. He also claimed that Iranian forces are operating less than 80 kilometers from the Israeli border, contrary to Russian assurances.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity under standard Israeli security protocols. The military has not commented on the incident.

On Wednesday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that six Israeli F-16 jets launched a “provocative” raid at the moment when two civilian airliners were preparing to land in Damascus and Beirut, creating a “direct threat” to the aircraft.

Lebanon’s acting Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos confirmed Konashenkov’s account, saying the two airplanes in Lebanese airspace “narrowly” escaped Israeli warplanes, averting a “human catastrophe.” Fenianos said Lebanon will present a complaint to the U.N. Security Council.

Konashenkov said the Syrian military didn’t fully engage its air defense assets to avoid accidentally hitting the passenger jets. He added that Syrian air traffic controllers redirected the Damascus-bound plane to a Russian air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia.

Konashenkov said Syrian air defense forces shot down 14 of the 16 precision-guided bombs dropped by the Israeli jets, while the remaining two hit a Syrian military depot 7 kilometers west of Damascus, wounding three Syrian soldiers.

The Israeli official said the Israeli jets hit all their targets, in some cases causing secondary explosions. He said they also destroyed a Syrian anti-aircraft battery.

In recent years, Israel has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes in neighboring Syria, most believed to have been aimed at suspected Iranian arms shipments to Hezbollah. Iran and Hezbollah have sent forces to Syria to bolster President Bashar Assad, who appears close to victory after a devastating seven-year civil war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel will not allow Iran to establish a permanent military presence in postwar Syria.

Israeli officials have also expressed concern about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria. The U.S. presence has given Israel an extra element of protection.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry accused Israel of exacerbating the crisis in the country and standing in the way of the government’s war on terrorism.

In messages sent to the U.N. secretary-general and the president of the Security Council, the ministry said the Israeli airstrike wouldn’t have been launched if it wasn’t for what it called “unlimited” U.S. support for Israel.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said Tuesday’s Israeli strike targeted three positions south of Damascus that are arms depots for Hezbollah and Iranian forces. MDT/AP