The air strikes come just days after the IDF thwarted an attempted sniper attack along the Syria-Israel border in the Golan Heights on Monday as Israelis voted in the 23rd Knesset elections.
By TZVI JOFFRE, ANNA AHRONHEIMSyrian air defence batteries responding to what the Syrian state media said were Israeli missiles targeting Damascus, in a picture taken early on January 21st, 2019(photo credit: STR / AFP)
Syrian air defenses responded to attacks Israel allegedly launched in southern and central Syria on Wednesday night, according to Syrian state news agency SANA. The airstrikes in Homs targeted the Dabaa Military Airfield and a site belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist group, Step News Agency reported.The attacks were launched by Israel from over Lebanese airspace and the Golan Heights and targeted Homs and the Quneitra region of southwestern Syria, according to SANA. Syrian air defenses successfully prevented any of the rockets from hitting their targets, the Syrian military told SANA.Homs is nearly 125 miles (about 200 km.) away from the Golan Heights.After the overnight strikes, the airspace above the Golan Heights east of the Jordan River was closed to civilian flights higher than 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) for the next three days. Israel did not claim responsibility for the airstrikes.The IDF thwarted an attempted sniper attack along the Syrian border in the Golan Heights on Monday as Israelis voted in the Knesset election.“IDF forces identified an attempted sniper attack in the northern Golan Heights and acted to thwart it, striking the vehicle involved in the attempt,” the army said.The vehicle struck was a civilian car in the city of Quneitra, SANA reported. Syrian opposition sources said the car was carrying militiamen loyal to the Assad regime.“Even on Election Day, our enemies are trying to hurt us, hurt the citizens of Israel and disrupt the routine of our lives,” Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said. “Even today, like throughout the year, we will stop our enemies and prevent them from disrupting the routine of our lives.”On Thursday, a man was killed in an alleged Israeli drone strike as he was driving his motorcycle near the village of Hadar in the Quneitra region.Syrian regime sources said the man was a civilian. But according to other unconfirmed reports, the man was identified as Emad al-Tawil, a Hezbollah operative active in establishing and entrenching a covert force in the Syrian Golan Heights that is designed to act against Israel.
