Israel Claims to Have Attacked Quds Force in Syria

The Israeli army has stated in a statement that it has targeted the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria. Israel has warned Syria to refrain from retaliatory actions against its territory or forces. The Israeli army typically avoids directly claiming responsibility for its attacks in Syrian territory, although its commander recently reported conducting thousands of attacks. The statement from the Israeli army was released early Monday, just hours after both Israel and Syria reported mutual missile and air attacks. The Israeli army's statement said, 'We have begun attacking targets belonging to the Quds Force on Syrian soil. We warn the Syrian army to refrain from acting against Israeli territory or forces.' Shortly before this statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, 'We have a consistent policy: to attack Iranian bases in Syria and hit anyone who tries to harm us.' Mr. Netanyahu emphasized that this policy 'will not change.' On the 30th of Dey, the Israeli army stated that its air defense system intercepted a rocket launched from Syria towards the Golan Heights. The official Syrian news agency also reported that its air defense responded to Israeli air attacks in southern areas. Concurrently, Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, stated that the targeted area in southern Damascus is where 'weapons warehouses for Hezbollah and Iranian fighters' are located. Iranian officials have yet to respond to the recent events and statements from the Israeli army. The recent Israeli attacks and the early Monday statement come just days after Gadi Eisenkot, the former Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, stated that his country had attacked 'thousands' of Iranian targets in Syria since 2017. Shortly after, Mr. Netanyahu said in a cabinet meeting, 'The wave of recent attacks proves that we are more determined than ever in our actions against Iran in Syria.' The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated on the 26th of Dey in response to recent Israeli officials' statements that 'Iran will maintain what it has in Syria.' Nevertheless, it seems that the usual silence of senior Israeli officials and the army regarding attacks on Islamic Republic targets in Syrian territory has been broken. The Islamic Republic claims to have entered the campaign in Syria at the request of the Syrian government and for the 'battle against terrorism.' However, Israel, which demands the complete withdrawal of all Iranian forces from Syria, states that Tehran's goal is to stabilize its presence near Israeli borders and threaten the country. The Syrian civil war began in 2011, leaving over half a million dead and displacing more than half of the country's population.