The ongoing conflict in Syria has once again flared up as Israeli forces targeted sites in the Daraa countryside in response to Iranian-backed armed groups firing missiles at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The exchange of fire occurred late on Friday.
According to reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), armed groups loyal to the Lebanese Hezbollah in the western countryside of Daraa targeted positions of Israeli forces in the Golan with Katyusha rockets. In response, Israeli forces launched missile strikes at the site of the missile launch. Fortunately, there have been no reports of civilian casualties so far.
The Israeli Army has claimed responsibility for attacking an ammunition warehouse of the Assad regime in southern Syria, citing it as a response to the rocket launch towards the Golan. Residents in the eastern countryside of Daraa reported hearing sounds of several explosions in a military post of the regime. The attacks hit the al-Kam ammunition warehouse, which is the main distribution center for ammunition in Daraa and Suwayda, south Syria.
Since 2011, Israel has launched successive strikes on areas in Syria, often targeting Iranian and Hezbollah interests as well as Assad regime military sites. Israel rarely confirms carrying out strikes in Syria, but it has repeatedly confronted what it describes as Tehran’s attempts to establish its military presence in Syrian territory.
This recent exchange of fire comes in the wake of heightened targeting of Syrian territory by Israel since the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in October. The conflict reveals the complex web of alliances and rivalries in the region, with Iran’s influence in Syria being a major point of contention for Israel.
