Syria Warns Israel About Consequences of Its Attacks

On Saturday evening, July 29, the Syrian Foreign Ministry sent letters to the UN Secretary-General and the rotating President of the Security Council, warning Israel about the "serious consequences" of its repeated attacks on Syria. The Israeli army stated that on Saturday, in response to five shells fired from Syria into its territory, it retaliated with artillery fire targeting Syrian military positions in the Quneitra region. Israel acknowledged that the shells fired from Syria hit farms in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and caused no casualties, admitting that this shelling was part of the Syrian civil war and was not intentionally directed at Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously stated that he ordered the army to respond immediately and decisively to any aggression from Syria. Netanyahu also supported last Monday's airstrike by Israel on a Syrian anti-aircraft missile platform. According to an Israeli army spokesperson, this missile platform, located 50 kilometers east of Damascus, had unsuccessfully fired at Israeli fighter jets in Lebanese airspace. The report indicated that these fighter jets were on a "routine reconnaissance patrol." This is the first time that senior Israeli political and military officials have confirmed two consecutive attacks on Syria in less than a week. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry tasked Bashar Jaafari, the country's ambassador to the UN, to deliver two letters to Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, and the rotating President of the Security Council, accusing the organization of inaction and inability to prevent such attacks, while also warning Israel against repeating these incursions into Syrian territory. In its letters, the Syrian Foreign Ministry accused Israel of seeking to exacerbate the situation and colluding with "criminal terrorist groups."