Israeli missiles 'strike military position near Syrian border town'

Syrian state media claims Israel has resorted to surface-to-surface attacks

A Syrian army post on the Golan Heights. EPA

Israel has been accused of firing missiles at a military position near the Syrian border city of Quneitra, the second round of reported Israeli attacks in a week.

“The Israeli enemy carried out an aggression with a number of surface-to-surface missiles,” state news agency Sana reported on Wednesday.

Reported Israeli surface-to-surface attacks are a rarity and Israel usually relies on its air force to conduct strikes on military positions within Syria.

Smoke rises in the countryside of Damascus, Syria, on Saturday Oct 30, 2021, following what Syrian state media said was an Israeli airstrike. According to SANA, the country's air defenses responded to missiles fired from Israel toward suburbs of the capital Damascus. (AP Photo / Omar Sanadiki)

However, the Israeli army has a multiple launch rocket system called Lynx, which has a range of several hundred kilometres.

Wednesday's attack came about a week after Syrian state media reported a similar Israeli attack on an area south of the capital, Damascus.

Since 2013, the Israeli air force has conducted hundreds of air strikes in Syria, often focused on the transit of Iran-supplied missiles and other military equipment that could be used in an attack on Israel.

Shiite militias and Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah are responsible for moving weaponry and have subsequently been bombed.

The Israeli military issued a warning in April 2020 that its forces would “not allow Hezbollah to entrench itself militarily in Syria”.

In a sweeping admission in 2019, former Israeli chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot said the air strikes had become routine.

“We struck thousands of targets without claiming responsibility or asking for credit,” he told reporters.

Israel rarely comments on specific attacks. However, earlier this month, it admitted to a round of air strikes that hit anti-aircraft positions. In some cases, violence escalates when Syrian anti-aircraft missiles fly into Israel ― a claim the Israeli military made on February 9.

“In response to the anti-aircraft missile launched from Syria earlier tonight, we just struck surface-to-air missile targets in Syria, including radar and anti-aircraft batteries,” the Israeli military said.