Israel Launches Another Airstrike on Syrian Territory

On Friday, July 9, Israel confirmed that it had conducted another airstrike in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights. Israeli media reported that the country had identified a mortar launcher belonging to Bashar al-Assad's army in northern Syria as the source of mortar fire and that an Israeli fighter jet targeted this mortar launcher. However, the Lebanese network Al-Mayadeen, which aligns with the Syrian government and Hezbollah, reported that Israel's attack targeted the 'Golan Brigade', one of the militia groups supporting the 'Resistance Front' and Bashar al-Assad. With this attack, Israel confirmed a total of four strikes on Syria in less than a week. Israel claims that in recent days, a total of 16 mortars and grenades have hit its territory, and although there have been no casualties, the Syrian government is held responsible. Last Monday, Syria had warned Israel about the continuation of these attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in recent days that his country would not tolerate any mortar or grenade strikes, even if they are part of the Syrian civil war. Netanyahu added, 'Israel firmly controls the Golan, and no one should dare cross Israel's security red lines.' Opponents of 'Fateh al-Sham' have recently engaged in fierce battles with Bashar al-Assad's forces and supporters in the Quneitra province near the Israeli borders to gain control of the area. At the same time, Yuli Edelstein, the head of the Knesset, expressed concern that ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Russia could also jeopardize Israel's borders with Syria. According to Israeli media, Mr. Edelstein expressed this 'concern' on Thursday during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow. The head of the Knesset told Mr. Lavrov that his country would not tolerate 'Iran's military presence in Syria' either. Meanwhile, Israel claimed that Iran had designated the Star of David symbol as a target in one of its recent missile tests. Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, described this action by the Islamic Republic of Iran as 'disgusting' and 'unacceptable'. The Israeli ambassador attached satellite images from a missile test in Iran that occurred six months ago as 'evidence'. In this satellite image, next to a crater where the 'Qiam' missile was supposed to hit, the 'Star of David' symbol was drawn on the ground to measure the missile's targeting accuracy. Mr. Danon stated that Iran is violating UN Security Council Resolution 2231 with its missile test and committing a 'disgusting' act by disrespecting the symbol of the Jewish people and religion. The Israeli ambassador added that when Iran does such a thing, it clearly shows that it wants to strike Israel. Danon also referred to the Islamic Republic of Iran's policy of supporting Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon as a continuation of 'Iran's support for terrorism in the region and the world'. Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, in his latest report on the implementation of the JCPOA and Security Council Resolution 2231, urged Iran to refrain from further missile tests to prevent escalating tensions. Mr. Guterres's report was published one day after the Israeli ambassador's remarks at the aforementioned Security Council meeting. Meanwhile, the Iranian parliament recently announced that it would allocate an additional 200 trillion tomans to strengthen missile programs and the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.