Israel’s second largest city Tel Aviv has allegedly got in the crosshairs of Syria’s Scud ballistic missiles, media report. The escalation of tensions has followed the Israeli air strike at a military research center near Damascus, Iranian media say.
Last week, a group of Israeli warplanes reportedly bombed a truck column near the Syria-Lebanon border that was believed to be transporting weapons for the Lebanese Hezbollah.
Syria vowed to retaliate for the attack. Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdul-Karim Ali, said Damascus had “the option and the surprise to retaliate” and added he couldn’t predict when the response attack would take place, saying it was up to the “relevant authorities” to prepare for it.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry also warned Tel Aviv about grievous repercussions for the strike on the Syrian territory.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak commented on the air strike during the Munich conference, saying it was “another proof that when we say something we mean it.”
“We say that we don't think it should be allowable to bring advanced weapons systems into Lebanon to Hezbollah from Syria when Assad falls,” Mr. Barak stressed.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese media report that Russia is bending every effort to avert the response attack, which it says will further aggravate the situation in the region.
Israel will 'regret aggression against Syria' - Iran
Israel will regret its latest "aggression against Syria", a top Iranian official visiting Damascus told reporters on Monday.
"Just like it regretted all its wars... the Zionist entity will regret its aggression against Syria," said National Security Council head Said Jalili, a day after Israel implicitly confirmed it staged an air strike near Damascus last week.
Assad says Syria can confront threats after Israel attack
President Bashar al-Assad accused Israel on Sunday of trying to destabilise Syria by attacking a military research base outside Damascus last week, and said Syria was able to confront "current threats ...and aggression" against it.
Syria's state news agency SANA said Assad made the remarks in a meeting with Saeed Jalili, Iran's national security council secretary, at meeting in the Syrian capital. It was Assad's first reported response to Wednesday's attack.
Israel mulls security belt in Syria
The Israeli military has prepared a plan to set up a 16km buffer zone inside Syria to prevent Islamist insurgents from crossing over to Israel. The roadmap has been submitted to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“This is to prevent a situation where terror reaches the fence without us being able to prevent it, by allowing us to see it,” an Israeli military source has told the media.
The security belt will allegedly accommodate two infantry brigades and one tank battalion. The Syrian-Israeli border stretches over 75 kilometers. The Israeli command mulls a buffer zone similar to the Israel-Lebanon border area, patrolled by both countries.
Reports say the past months have seen Islamist militants penetrating Syrian villages close to the Israeli border.
Voice of Russia, Reuters, AFP, TASS
World, Military news, Israel, Syria
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