In fresh ops, Israel hits Syria’s air defence unit
Allies push Israel to press pause button to ease situation
JERUSALEM: Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an air defence unit in its south and causing material damage, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement as saying on Friday.
The warplanes were seen around the time loud noises and drones were reported near a major Iranian air base and nuclear site early Friday.
That area of Syria is directly west of Isfahan, some 1,500 kilometers away, and east of Israel. Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday and some flights were diverted or grounded after reports of explosions near a major airbase and nuclear site where drones were spotted. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken didn’t comment about the latest Middle East developments as he arrived for the final session on Friday morning of a Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in Capri, Italy.
Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented weekend attack, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of fighting in Gaza. Allies have urged Israel to hold back on any response to the attack that could spiral.
The United States and Britain announced on Thursday that they were imposing a new round of sanctions on Iran.
The moves came as European Union leaders meeting in Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions on Iran to target its drone and missile deliveries to proxies in Gaza, Yemen and Lebanon.
Regional tensions have increased since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on October 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad two militant groups backed by Iran carried out a cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others.
Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,900 people, according to local health officials. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike hit a military radar for government forces. It was not clear if there were casualties, the Observatory said. The Observatory’s chief Rami Abdurrahman said six Israeli fighter jets entered Syria’s airspace and were flying east when they were spotted by the radar.
He added that the fighters jets were flying east. Iranian state television described all atomic sites in the Isfahan area as “fully safe”.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, also said “there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites” after the commotion.