Israel intercepts four rockets launched from Syria
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said it intercepted four incoming rockets from Syria on Tuesday and explosions were heard shortly after that in Damascus, a week after another Israeli strike targeted a top Palestinian militant in the Syrian capital.
Israeli air defense systems captured the projectiles, the military said, and no harm was caused to Israeli communities in the Golan Heights after warning sirens awoke residents there early in the morning.
There was no immediate official comment from Syria but the SANA state news agency reported explosions were heard near Damascus International Airport, indicating a potential Israeli retaliatory strike.
The Israeli military would not comment on the explosions in Syria, but Defense Minister Naftali Bennett was convening the top military brass in Tel Aviv to discuss the latest developments.
Speaking on Israel Army radio, Foreign Minister Israel Katz was equally vague, saying only that “Israel will act in the way it sees fit.”
The rare rocket fire comes a week after an Israeli air strike against a top Palestinian militant based in Syria.
Akram al-Ajouri, a member of the leadership of the militant Islamic Jihad group who is living in exile, survived the attack but his son and granddaughter were killed.
Israel frequently strikes Iranian interests in Syria. But last week’s air strike appeared to be a rare assassination attempt of a Palestinian militant in the Syrian capital.
It came the same day as another Israeli air strike killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza, settling off the fiercest round of fighting there in years.