Albuquerque Journal

Israel says Syrian missile was not aimed at nuclear reactor

- BY JOSEF FEDERMAN

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said Thursday that a Syrian missile that reached deep into Israeli territory and set off air raid sirens near the country’s topsecret nuclear reactor was the result of a misfire and not a deliberate attack.

The missile landed in southern Israel early Thursday, prompting Israel to respond with airstrikes on the missile launcher and other targets in Syria.

The army’s chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman, was quoted as telling military correspond­ents that the Israeli air force was already operating in Syrian airspace when the anti-aircraft missile was fired. He said the projectile, identified as a Russian-made SA-5 missile, missed its target and exploded in southern Israel.

The missile set off air raid sirens in a village near Dimona, the southern desert town where Israel’s nuclear reactor is located, and some 200 miles south of Damascus. “There was no intention of hitting the nuclear reactor in Dimona,” Zilberman was quoted as saying.

An Israeli missile-defense system tried but failed to intercept the incoming missile. Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the incident was under investigat­ion.

In Washington, Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, gave a similar assessment to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

“I think it reflects, actually, incompeten­ce in Syrian air defense, where they were responding to Israeli strikes on targets in Syria. The fired their missiles, the missiles went ballistic, literally, and followed a parabolic trajectory to Israel,” he said. “I do not believe it was an intentiona­l attack, but just rather a lack of capability on the part of the Syrian air defenders.”

In recent years, Israel has repeatedly launched air strikes at Syria, including at military targets linked to foes Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, both allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Such strikes routinely draw Syrian antiaircra­ft fire. Thursday’s exchange was unusual because the Syrian projectile landed deep inside Israel.

Syrian media made no mention of an anti-aircraft missile landing deep inside Israel.

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