Syria accuses Israel of rare daylight strike, as IDF downs missile over Golan



Syrian state media on Sunday accused Israel of conducting a rare daylight missile attack in and around Damascus, triggering the country’s air defenses.
The Russian military, which is allied with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, reiterated the Syrian claims, saying the incoming attack had been blocked by the country’s air defenses. Israel refused to comment on the reported strike.
During the exchange, the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted an incoming projectile from Syria, which was heading toward the northern Golan Heights, the Israel Defense Forces said.
An army spokesperson said it was not immediately clear if the incoming projectile was a retaliatory attack or a Syrian air defense missile that was heading toward a populated area, as has occurred several times in the past, including on Christmas Day.
Local Syrian media said the targets of strike were in Damascus International Airport and in the town of al-Kiswah, south of the capital, both of which have been hit by Israeli attacks in the past. Last year, the Israeli military said bases near al-Kiswah were used by pro-Iranian militias. An Iranian weapons depot at the airport was targeted in an airstrike a week and a half ago, Israel said.
According to Syrian opposition media, approximately 10 missiles were fired at targets near the airport and in al-Kiswah.
“Warehouses containing weapons for Syrian regime ally Hezbollah and Iranian fighters are located in that area,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
The Syrian regime mouthpiece SANA said the military’s air defense systems had “effectively addressed” the incoming Israeli attack and “prevented it from achieving any of its objectives.” Defense analysts generally dismiss the Syrian military’s routine claims of successful interceptions as overstated or outright false statements.
The Russia military supported the official Syrian claim that the alleged Israel attack had not damaged the airport.
According to the the Kremlin-backed Sputnik news site, Syrian-operated Pantsir and Buk air defense systems destroyed seven incoming Israeli missiles launched from four F-16 fighter jets from over the Mediterranean Sea.

“The airport’s infrastructure was not damaged. There are no victims, and no damage,” a Russian military spokesman tells the news site.
It was not immediately clear what accounted for the conflicting reports on the number of missiles fired by the Israeli jets.
The interception of the incoming Syrian projectile was seen over Mount Hermon, Israel’s tallest peak, which was full of visiting skiers, following a stormy period that dusted the mountain with snow.
For years, Israel has conducted airstrikes against Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria, which it considers threats to national security. However, those attacks typically take place under the cover of darkness.
The alleged Israeli strike appeared to be the first major attack carried out by the Israel Defense Forces since Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi took over as chief of staff last week. Kohavi was visiting the IDF Northern Command at the time of the alleged Israeli strike.
The alleged strike came hours after an Iranian cargo plane touched down in the Damascus International Airport, according to publicly available flight data. Israel and American defense officials have said these types of ostensibly civilian cargo planes are used to transport advanced weaponry from Tehran to pro-Iranian militias, fighting in Syria, including the Hezbollah terror group.
Another flight from Iran, flown by the Mahan Air carrier, was en route to Syria on Sunday afternoon, but changed its course following the reported Israeli strikes, according to flight data. Mahan Air has been identified by defense officials as one of the cargo carriers suspected of ferrying war materiel from Iran to Syria. As a result, it is subject to sanctions by the US Treasury Department.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out such a strike following an apparent cargo drop earlier this month, bombing an Iranian weapons depot at Damascus International Airport. At last week’s Sunday cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was behind the strike two days before, a rare acknowledgement of such a raid.