Syrian media claims Israeli jets struck army base, Hezbollah base
Hezbollah's al-Manar TV denied reports and claimed that "Israel did not launch attacks against bases of the Syrian army and the Resistance in the region of Qutayfah."
By JPOST.COM STAFF, MAAYAN GROISMANAn IAF F-15I fighter jet(photo credit: REUTERS)
Syrian media reports claim that the Israeli Air Force on Monday night bombed a Syrian army ballistic missile base, as well as a Hezbollah military base on on the Syrian-Lebanese border.According to the reports, the alleged strike took place in the town of Qutayfah, located in the eastern region of the Qalamoun Mountains, close to Syria's border with Lebanon.However, Hezbollah's TV channel, al-Manar, denied the reports and claimed that "Israel did not launch attacks against bases of the Syrian army and the Resistance in the region of Qutayfah."Israel has not responded to the reports.Syrian media have on various occasions reported claims of Israeli air strikes.In late December, Syrian reports said the IAF targeted at least seven Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s Qalamoun region.Hezbollah reportedly denied there were any explosions at its bases at the time.The IDF also refused to comment on that report.The report came almost a week after terrorist Samir Kuntar was killed in an air strike in Syria, which was also linked to Israel, though not confirmed.On December 20, the top Hezbollah commander was killed when a number of rockets hit a building in the Damascus district of Jaramana. The country’s government loyalist claimed the strikes were also Israeli.
In a speech, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel with revenge over Kuntar’s killing.Kuntar was responsible for murdering the Haran family in 1979 as part of a PLO operation, and later joined Hezbollah following his release from Israeli prison in 2008.