Israel responded with artillery fire to “a number of launches” originating from Syria on Tuesday, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
“A number of launches from Syria aimed for Israel were identified a short while ago. Part of the launches crossed into Israeli territory and presumably fell in open areas,” the IDF reported in a post on X.
Following this, the IDF soldiers retaliated with artillery and mortar shells directed toward the source of the attacks in Syria.
The IDF didn’t point fingers at any group for the rocket attack, and the Syrian government remained silent.
However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based opposition monitor, attributed the attack to a Palestinian faction operating from Syrian territory.
“Palestinian factions working with the Lebanese Hezbollah fired mortar shells from Syrian territory towards the occupied Golan coinciding with the security mobilization of regime forces in the region, while the region has witnessed extensive movements of Lebanese Hezbollah for a few days,” the group said in a statement.
The group said that Israel’s shells targeted military positions and machinery in the “Siswan area and Sariya Saida in Al-Qonaitara countryside, in addition to a position near Al-Jumou’ military Hill in western Daraa countryside.”
Israel’s response came in the wake of earlier aggression when Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group fired a barrage of 15 rockets into northern Israel. Four of the rockets were intercepted, with ten falling in open areas.
The Hamas terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. No injuries were reported in Hezbollah’s rocket assault.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Iran-backed Hezbollah group had also fired a guided missile at an Israeli tank. In response to this attack, an Israeli IDF helicopter gunship targeted two observation posts in southern Lebanon affiliated with Hezbollah. This prompted some concerns about a region-wide conflict.
On Monday, Israeli shelling on southern Lebanon killed at least three Hezbollah fighters. An Israeli officer, Lieutenant Colonel Alim Abdullah, was also killed during an earlier cross-border raid into Israel mounted by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in Lebanon. Israeli forces killed two of the group’s fighters who had crossed into northern Israel, the IDF said.
These hostilities from Syria and Lebanon followed closely on the heels of the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist group launching a massive cross-border raid into Israel on Saturday morning, local time, which has been described as the deadliest attack against Israel in its history.
Hezbollah has voiced its support for the deadly cross-border incursion into Israel by Hamas. The group said on Sunday that it had shelled positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms border region “in solidarity” with Hamas. Israel has controlled Shebaa Farms since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Lebanon and Syria claim the region, which is 15 square miles, as Lebanese territory.
According to the IDF, more than 1,000 Israelis were killed and more than 2,800 injured in the terrorist group’s surprise attack on Saturday morning, local time. At least 50 people have been confirmed as either being taken hostage or missing.
Hamas fired over 4,500 rockets from Gaza, the IDF said in an update on Tuesday evening. In response, the Israeli forces say they have struck over 2,294 Hamas targets.
First Plane Carrying US Ammunition Arrives in Israel
U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged support to Israel while condemning the Hamas attacks as acts of terrorism. National security adviser Jake Sullivan, in a statement on Tuesday, likened Hamas’s brutality against Israelis to tactics deployed by ISIS.The first plane carrying American ammunition arrived in Israel on Tuesday, according to IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari.
Mr. Hagari further expressed gratitude for the American support and assistance.
“We are grateful for the American backing and assistance to the IDF in particular, and to the State of Israel in general, during this challenging period,” he added. “Our common enemies know that the cooperation between the armies is stronger than ever, and is a key part of ensuring regional security and stability.”
As of Tuesday, Israel announced that it had regained control of the border with Gaza and called up over 300,000 reservists to bolster defenses in anticipation of a possible ground attack in Gaza.
The Israeli air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza have reportedly resulted in over 900 Palestinian deaths, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israel’s announcement of a siege on the Gaza Strip has effectively cut off the supply of fuel, food, electricity, and other essentials.
Hezbollah was founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982 and has close ties to the Palestinian terrorist groups fighting Israel. Hezbollah has pledged its “guns and rockets” in support of Hamas.
