Israel's David's Sling aerial defense system has intercepted two rockets that triggered warning sirens in the country’s north near the Syrian border. The Israeli Defense Forces have said that the missiles were fired from Syrian territory during a fight between the government’s forces and the armed opposition in the south of Syria. The IDF added that no casualties had been reported following the interception.
RESCUED: @SyriaCivilDef faced an immediate threat to their lives in Syria. We rescued hundreds of them and their families. They passed through Israel and are now out of harm's way. We conducted this life-saving mission at the request of the US, Canada, and EU countries.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) 22 июля 2018 г.
This comes shortly after Israeli TV aired a video of what was said to be an aerial interception. After the initial report, the IDF sounded sirens in several locations in northern Israel.
Breaking: Sirens sounded in northern Israel pic.twitter.com/iiimmzt21l
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) 23 июля 2018 г.
The development comes after Syrian state media reported on Sunday that Israel had targeted military sites in an air raid to "cover up for the collapse of terrorist organizations in Daraa and Quneitra."
The tensions between the two countries have been running high recently. Last week, Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli attack on the province of Quneitra in southwestern Syria after the IDF fired a Patriot anti-aircraft missile, shooting down a Syrian drone that had entered Israel's airspace.
Israel has recently intensified strikes in Syria, citing the alleged Iranian military presence in the Arab Republic as a pretext for its attacks. Tehran and Damascus have repeatedly denied the claims, insisting that only Iranian military advisors are present in the country in order to help the legitimate authorities fight terrorism.
