Israel strikes targets in Syria for second day

JOSEF FEDERMAN

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military on Sunday said it attacked a series of targets belonging to the Syrian military, after several projectiles from neighbouring Syria landed in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights for a second day.

The military said it targeted two Syrian artillery positions and an ammunitions truck. There were no immediate reports of casualties. But as an added precaution, the military instructed Israeli civilians from gathering in open areas in the border area.

It was the second straight day that Israel responded to what it has described as errant fire from Syria. Israel has tried to stay out of the six-year civil war in Syria and refrained from taking sides, but has responded to spillover fire on numerous occasions.

Israel also is believed to have carried out airstrikes on suspected weapons shipments to its archenemy Hezbollah, whose fighters are in Syria backing government forces.

“Our policy is clear: We will not tolerate any spillover or trickle whatsoever — neither mortars nor rockets, from any front,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday. “We will respond strongly to any attack on our territory or our citizens.”

He also said Israel views “with utmost gravity” Iranian attempts to gain a foothold in Syria or to provide advanced weapons to Hezbollah, its Lebanese proxy.

In Saturday’s fighting, Israeli aircraft struck various positions, destroying two tanks, in response to more than 10 projectiles that landed in its territory, the military said.

Syrian state media said a number of people were killed.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. It subsequently annexed the strategic plateau overlooking northern Israel, but that annexation is not international recognized.