The Israeli military carried out airstrikes against Syrian targets Monday night. The strikes were a response to an attempted terrorist attack that was thwarted along the Syrian border on Sunday night.
The thwarted attack consisted of four terrorists planting explosive devices inside Israel. IDF forces spotted them, opened fire, and thwarted the attack. Reportedly, all four terrorists were killed. Afterwards, the Israelis found weapons and a bag containing explosive devices where the terrorists had been spotted.
In response, IDF planes struck lookout points, intelligence gathering mechanisms, anti-aircraft weapons, and means of control and command at Syrian military bases.
IDF says it doesn’t know who sent the four terrorists into Israel. However, IDF “sees the Syrian regime as responsible for all operations carried out in its territory.”
There’s a good chance that Hezbollah sent the terrorists. Last month, Israeli airstrike in Syria killed a senior Hezbollah fighter, and Hezbollah vowed to avenge his death. It then attempted, unsuccessfully, to infiltrate Israel via the Lebanese border. Thus, it’s no reach to suspect that Hezbollah was behind last night’s infiltration, that group’s denial of responsibility notwithstanding.
Tensions between Hezbollah and Israel have been heating up for some time, with Iran, which itself has a significant presence in Syria, heavily implicated because Hezbollah is its proxy.
I don’t know how hard Iran intends to push Israel. Perhaps Hezbollah’s denial of involvement and the silence so far of Iranian media about it mean that Iran wants to back off for now. However, the Syrian-Israeli border should be considered a major hot spot, with serious eruptions possible.
