Syrian missile attack triggered warning sirens in Israel, a missile landed in Negev
TEL AVIV, (BM) – Early this morning, April 22, a series of Israeli airstrikes and a response by the Syrian air defenses set off warning missile sirens in the Negev desert near Israel’s nuclear reactor.
Around 1:30 a.m., Tel Aviv approved an operation to attack Iranian targets in Syria. The Times of Israel reported an Israeli airstrike on Syrian territory. The Arab side’s air defenses have been activated and fired missiles at an Israeli fighter jet. No Israeli fighter jet has been shot down, but one of the missiles fired crossed Israeli territory and exploded near a nuclear reactor in the Negev desert.
“We detected a launch of a surface-to-air missile from Syrian territory towards Israeli territory, which fell in the Negev region,” the IDF said.
The blast was quite loud after residents of Jerusalem and central Israel heard the sound of its explosion. In response to this Syrian missile, the Israeli Air Force was lifted for the second time and carried out a second air attack within an hour on Syrian territory.
This case is not an attack on Israel
The Israeli military believes that the incident with the Syrian missile is not an attack on the state nor an attack on Israel’s nuclear capabilities. This opinion was expressed by the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of Israel, Hidai Zilberman.
“There was no intention of hitting the nuclear reactor in Dimona,” Zilberman told reporters.
According to experts, the missile fired by the Syrian air defense system was Russian-made SA-5 surface-to-air. This missile carries a charge of at least 200 kg warhead.
SANA, Syrian state media, commented that the first Israeli airstrike began at 1:38 a.m. early in the morning. Three minutes later, Syria fired the missile. The launch was carried out by an air defense system from the Abu Krenat area.
No damage was inflicted on Israeli territory or injured, but Israeli airstrikes killed four Syrian troops.
The second Israeli attack began about an hour after the launch of the Syrian missile.
History remembers such cases
The same type of SA-5 missile was fired by Syrian air defenses in 2019 again on an Israeli plane, and again, as today, the rocket did not hit the fighter. Instead, it fell in northern Cyprus, where it caused an explosion accompanied by a large fire and property damage in one of the villages there.
In 2017, two SA-5 missiles fired at Israeli planes landed in eastern Israel, while a third landed on Jordanian territory without causing injury or damage.
Why is Israel attacking areas in Syria?
We remind you that since the beginning of the civil war, Tehran has been trying to establish a permanent military presence in Syria. Tehran supports Hezbollah’sHezbollah’s military action. Israel claims that these actions by Iran and Hezbollah, backed by Bashar al-Assad’s government, are the main reason Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in the last decade.
The situation is almost similar to the “Israeli” cause of the airstrikes on Iraq’sIraq’s Syrian border areas. According to Israeli intelligence, Tehran is using these areas for arms transfers. Strange or not, but the Syrian media also confirms this news.
Very often, Israeli airstrikes on territories in Syria accompanies information from US military intelligence. It reveals to the Israelis mainly items in warehouses and depots and parts of pipelines used to store weapons.
Israeli-Iranian proxy war / cold war
Communication between Israel and Iran is mostly threatening and hostile. Such has been the relationship between the two countries for a very long time. This situation is known as the proxy conflict, the proxy war, or the Cold War between the two countries.
The conflict “appeared” on the world map after the Iranian revolution in 1979. In all the years to this day, Iran aims to destroy Israel as a state. Tehran supports groups and organizations that are hostile to the Jewish state and people. On the other hand, Israel is worried about Iran’sIran’s nuclear program. The proximity of the two countries worries Tel Aviv that Iranians could use them against Israel if Iran has nuclear weapons. Israel also finds its allies in the face of the United States and Saudi Arabia, which are apparent opponents of Iran.
Thus, this conflict gradually turned into an Israeli-Iranian war. The competition has been going on since the start of the Syrian civil war. According to Iran, Israel rules by an illegitimate “Zionist regime,” a Tehran problem. Iran’sIran’s other point of reference is that the United States is hostile to Muslims because it supports Israel.
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