The Israeli military said it attacked targets in Syria shortly after an anti-aircraft missile was fired from the Arab country into Israeli territory early Wednesday.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said on Twitter that a Syrian SA-5 rocket exploded in the air and was not intercepted by Israeli air defenses, but it activated warning sirens near the town of Umm al-Fahm, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Jerusalem, and in the northern part of the West Bank. There were no reports of injuries or damage there.
Syrian air defenses set off near Damascus, February 9, 2022
(Video: SANA)
The explosion was heard across large swathes of northern Israel and the West Bank.
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Building damaged by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile in the town of Qudssaya near Damascus, February 9, 2022
(Photo: SANA)
This is the fourth time over the last 18 months that a Syrian anti-aircraft rocket has crossed into Israeli soil.
In a rare statement acknowledging attacks inside Syria, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck Syrian facilities used in targeting Israeli aircraft, including a radar and anti-aircraft batteries.
According to Syrian state media, a Syrian soldier was killed and five others were wounded in an Israeli attack near the capital Damascus.
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Building damaged by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile in the town of Qudssaya near Damascus, February 9, 2022
(Photo: SANA)
Syrian official news agency SANA reported that Israel fired surface-to-surface missiles in the vicinity of the capital city Damascus, describing them as "Israeli aggression's missiles", and some of them were brought down by air defenses. It said a Syrian soldier was killed in the attack, which caused material damage, and five soldiers were wounded.
Other reports on Syrian media said that one interceptor rocket have caused damage to a building and several vehicles in the town of Qudssaya near the capital.
Israel has been linked to hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria over the past decade of the civil war in the Arab country, but its government rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.
Israel has acknowledged, however, that it is targeting bases of Iran-allied militias, such as Hezbollah, which is fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces in the country's civil strife.