Syrian state media says Israel is firing missiles into Syria

Syrian state media says Israel is firing missiles into Syria
December 23, 2019, 11:07 am

In this frame grab from a video provided by the Syrian official news agency SANA, missiles fly into the sky near Damascus, Syria. (File photo: SANA/AP)

Syrian air defenses opened fire Sunday night on missiles fired from Israeil warships in the Mediterranean, according to Al Arabiya sources.

Missiles above the capital Damascus and drones above the Hama Military Airport have been intercepted, according to state media.

Syrian state TV gave no further details but residents of Damascus said explosions could be heard near the capital.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Last month, Israel said it struck dozens of Iranian targets in Syria in a “wide-scale” operation in response to rocket fire on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights the day before.

Israel has repeatedly struck Iran-linked targets in Syria in recent years and has warned against any permanent Iranian presence on the frontier.

In November, Israel killed a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an Iran-backed group in the Gaza Strip, setting off two days of heavy fighting.

A separate airstrike targeted but failed to kill an Islamic Jihad leader in Damascus, underscoring the risk of escalation at various pressure points across the volatile region.

Syrian air defenses opened fire Sunday night on missiles fired from Israeil warships in the Mediterranean, according to Al Arabiya sources.