Israeli Airstrike by Attack Drones in Syrian Territory

A few days after the Israeli Prime Minister acknowledged the country's airstrike in Syria, Middle Eastern media report that the Israeli Air Force attacked the Qalamoun region in Syria on Friday evening, December 13. According to the Israeli website Walla, citing Arab media, the 155th Brigade of the Syrian Army, stationed in Qatifa and along the Damascus-Beirut highway, was targeted by missiles fired from Israeli drones. The reports indicate that Israel aimed to prevent the transfer of Syrian-made Scud missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon with this airstrike. Al-Hadath and Al-Arabiya networks reported that Israeli attack drones were deployed for this operation. Syrian opposition sources and some elements linked to the Damascus government stated that fuel reserves were also targeted in the Israeli bombing. The Syrian Army has remained silent in response to this attack, but an Israeli Army spokesperson stated in response to local media that they do not comment on reports published by foreign media. However, Israeli media on Saturday, December 14, reflected the reports of airstrikes in Syria citing Arab sources. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, acknowledged for the first time on Tuesday, December 10, that his country is 'occasionally forced to carry out military operations in Syria.' Previously, all reports regarding Israeli airstrikes were published by Western and Arab media, and Syria often preferred silence to avoid interpretations of weakness in the Syrian Army against Israel. In his speech on Tuesday at the 'Galilee' conference in northern Israel, Netanyahu stated that Iran seeks to open a new front against Israel through the Golan Heights in Syria, and the transfer of arms to Hezbollah from Syrian territory is intolerable. Concurrently, Israeli media reported that Moshe Ya'alon, Israel's Defense Minister, stated last Friday at the Saban Studies conference in Washington that Iran has not stopped organizing 'weapons convoys' for Hezbollah from Syrian territory. Ya'alon also mentioned in a meeting with Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, that 'after gaining access to released funds from the lifting of sanctions, Iran will produce higher quality weapons and further equip terrorist groups in the region, especially Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.' Israeli officials confirm that the transfer of weaponry that disrupts the regional balance to Israel's disadvantage is considered a 'red line' for Israel. However, both Israel and Hezbollah acknowledge that since the last war between the two sides in the summer of 2006, Hezbollah's arsenal has become much stronger.