Hours before Syria airstrikes, Defense Minister hinted at attack

The Syrian government reported a “hostile Israeli attack” on targets in southern Damascus early Monday morning, just hours after Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett (Yamina) hinted at an upcoming military operation.

Speaking at a press conference Sunday, Bennett alluded to an operation against Iranian forces stationed in Syria, saying: “Keep your ears open to what you see and hear.”

“We aren’t just continuing our work preventing Iran from entrenching itself in Syria, we’ve moved decisively from preventative action to forcing [Iranian forces] out.”

Just hours later, Syria’s SANA media outlet reported that Israeli aircraft flying in Lebanese airspace had fired missiles on targets in the southern Damascus area at 4:55 a.m.

The report claimed that Syria’s missile detection systems intercepted the “Israeli aggression” which came from Lebanon’s airspace and was able to down several rockets fired at Syrian territory.