Syria fires anti-aircraft missile toward Israel during reported Israeli strike
February 9, 2022, 3:19 am

Syria fires anti-aircraft missile toward Israel during reported Israeli strike

Military air strike/Pixabay

The Arab News reported, citing Reuters, Syrian state television reported an Israeli strike around Damascus on Wednesday and the Israeli military said a Syrian anti-aircraft missile was fired toward Israel, triggering sirens and exploding in mid-air.

The alert in northern Israel and parts of the occupied West Bank coincided with reports on Syrian state TV that Syrian air defenses had downed a number of Israeli missiles over Damascus.

An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment on the report that Israel had carried out a missile strike.

The Israeli military said on Twitter: “The launch of an anti-aircraft missile from Syrian territory toward Israel was identified," adding that “The missile exploded in mid-air and there was no need to intercept it.”

Syrian air defenses intercept Israeli missile barrage targeting vicinity of Damascus

It should be noted that Israel has mounted frequent attacks against what it says are Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces led by Lebanon’s Hezbollah have supported President Bashar Assad over the past decade in Syria’s civil war.

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.