First reported Israeli airstrike in Syria since May 3; Katz: No immunity for any party that poses a threat to Israel
The Israel Defense Forces carried out airstrikes on Friday near the coastal Syrian city of Latakia, saying its fighter jets targeted weapon depots used to store anti-ship missiles. Syrian state media said one civilian was killed.
It was Israel’s first reported strikes in Syria in nearly a month.
The missiles had posed a threat to “international and Israeli freedom of navigation,” the IDF said.
Additionally, the IDF said it struck anti-aircraft missile “components” near Latakia.
Syrian state television said “a strike from Israeli occupation aircraft targeted sites close to the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside south of Latakia.
In a statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that there will be “no immunity for any party” that poses a threat to the country.
“The IDF attacked and destroyed strategic weapons throughout Syria… that posed an immediate threat to the State of Israel,” Katz said.
“We will not allow threats and there will be no immunity for any party — we will continue to protect Israel’s security,” he said.
The strikes came even as Israel and Syria are reportedly in direct contact and have in recent weeks held face-to-face meetings aimed at calming tensions and preventing conflict in the border region between the two longtime foes.
The contacts mark a significant development in ties between states that have been on opposite sides of conflict in the Middle East for decades, as the US encourages the new Islamist rulers in Damascus to establish relations with Israel.
Earlier this month, Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa confirmed indirect talks with Israel that he said were aimed at calming tensions.
Israeli military operations in Syria have escalated since Assad’s fall, with Jerusalem saying it will not tolerate an Islamist militant presence in southern Syria.
Israel has bombed what it says are military targets across the country, and Israeli ground forces have entered southwestern Syria, where they are currently stationed in a number of outposts in a buffer zone in the Golan Heights.
Israel has also cautioned against swift recognition of the new government in Syria, expressing deep skepticism about Sharaa, who until recently had a $10 million bounty on his head from the US.
But the strikes and the criticism have substantially subsided in recent weeks.
Content retrieved from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-it-targeted-anti-ship-missile-depots-near-syrias-latakia-one-said-killed/.
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