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Israeli strike intercepted in Syria, says Syrian state media

WION Web Team
Damascus, SyriaUpdated: Dec 25, 2020, 07:44 AM IST
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A helicopter supports a joint Russian-Turkish patrol in the countryside of the Syrian town of al-Jawadiyah, in the northeastern Hasakeh province, near the border with Turkey, on December 24, 2020. Photograph:(AFP)

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Israeli warplanes were heard flying over neighbouring Lebanon shortly before the airstrike

Syrian state news agency SANA said on Friday that Syria's air defences intercepted missiles fired by Israel. The missiles were reportedly fired on the western province of Hama.

"Our air defences intercepted an Israeli attack on the Masyaf area" in rural Hama, SANA reported.

Syrian state TV aired footage purporting to show air defences responding to the Israeli attack.

As per AFP, Israeli warplanes were heard flying over neighbouring Lebanon just before the strikes.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported strikes on Masyaf, saying Israel was "likely responsible".

The war monitor said the attack targeted "positions of regime forces and Iran-backed militias," without providing additional details. 

Israel, which did not immediately comment on the reports, has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011.

It has targeted government troops, allied Iranian forces and fighters from the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

It rarely confirms details of its operations in Syria, but says Iran's presence in support of President Bashar al-Assad is a threat and that it will continue its strikes.

(With AFP inputs)