Israel Launches Night Air Strike, Two Syrian Soldiers Injured

Illustration of an Israeli fighter jet. (Wikimedia Commons/Deror Avi)

JAKARTA - Two Syrian soldiers were injured and material damage occurred in alleged Israeli airstrikes targeting sites along the Syrian coast, as well as in the center of the country on Monday evening, with Syrian air defenses responding to the attacks, according to Syria's state news agency SANA.

Citing The Jerusalem Post November 9, a military source told SANA, Israeli airstrikes were carried out from north of Beirut, targeting sites in Syria's central and coastal regions, adding that most of the incoming missiles were intercepted. Initial reports by Syrian sources indicated the strikes targeted locations near Homs in western Syria and Tartus on the coast.

A woman was injured and a number of houses damaged in Hermel in northeastern Lebanon due to shrapnel from the intercept of an Israeli missile by Syrian air defenses, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.

Some of the targets were reportedly located near Shayrat Air Base near Homs. The ALMA Research and Education Center reported in October that Iranian UAVs were being transferred to Shayrat Air Base.

Shortly after the airstrikes, Israel closed the airspace over the Golan Heights to flights above 5,000 feet until Tuesday at 9 p.m.

To note, as Israeli airstrikes against Syria have increased in the past year, response times by Syrian air defense batteries have become faster, making the IAF change the way it works during operations, including by having larger formations during operations so that more targets can be attacked at once. during operation instead of making the jet return to the same target again.

In addition, Iran has begun deploying advanced anti-aircraft missile batteries to the region in a bid to challenge Israeli jets.