Israel Strikes Syria after Drone Hits Southern Eilat City

Israel strikes Syria after drone hits southern Eilat city - Israeli military
Israel strikes Syria after drone hits southern Eilat city - Israeli military
TT

Israel Strikes Syria after Drone Hits Southern Eilat City

Israel strikes Syria after drone hits southern Eilat city - Israeli military
Israel strikes Syria after drone hits southern Eilat city - Israeli military

Israel's military said an organization in Syria launched a drone that hit a school in the southern Israeli city of Eilat earlier this week and that it struck the group in response.

The military did not say what organization in Syria had launched the drone toward Eilat, on the Red Sea approximately 400 kms (250 miles) from the nearest point in Syrian territory.

But it said in a statement it holds Syria's government fully responsible "for any terror activity emanating from its territory." There were no reports of injuries from the drone strike, which caused light damage.

The drone incident adds to a spate of attacks directed from the region since the Oct. 7 outbreak of Israeli fighting with Gaza's Hamas militants.

Israel's military said its "Arrow" air defense system intercepted a missile launched at Israeli territory near the Red Sea, and that its Patriot defence system had intercepted a "suspicious target" in the southern Negev desert.

Israel's military did not attribute blame for the missile launch or the target intercepted in the Negev.

Israel has boosted its naval presence in the Red Sea to better protect its southern shores, while the United States also has a significant amount of naval power in the region.

Eilat is the Israel's main commercial gateway through the Red Sea.



Australia, NZ, Canada Call for ICJ Response from Israel, Gaza Ceasefire 

Israeli military troops prepare near the Israel-Gaza border, amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, July 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Israeli military troops prepare near the Israel-Gaza border, amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, July 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Australia, NZ, Canada Call for ICJ Response from Israel, Gaza Ceasefire 

Israeli military troops prepare near the Israel-Gaza border, amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, July 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Israeli military troops prepare near the Israel-Gaza border, amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, July 25, 2024. (Reuters)

Australia, New Zealand and Canada on Friday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and asked Israel to respond to a United Nations court which last week ruled its occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there were illegal. 

"Israel must listen to the concerns of the international community," the leader's statement said. 

"The protection of civilians is paramount and a requirement under international humanitarian law. Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas. It must end." 

The leaders also said Israel needed to hold extremist settlers accountable for ongoing acts of violence against Palestinians, reverse its settlement program in the West Bank and work towards a two-state solution. 

Israel's embassy in Australia on Thursday said it condemned acts of violence against Palestinian communities. 

Last week, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and its settlements there are illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible, its strongest findings to date on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. 

The leader's statement called on Israel to "respond substantively" to the ICJ. 

Israel's foreign ministry last week rejected the ICJ opinion as "fundamentally wrong" and one-sided, and repeated its stance that a political settlement in the region can only be reached by negotiations. 

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem - areas of historic Palestine which the Palestinians want for a state - in the 1967 Middle East war and has since built settlements in the West Bank and steadily expanded them. 

Israeli leaders argue the territories are not occupied in legal terms because they are on disputed lands, but the United Nations and most of the international community regard them as occupied territory. 

The joint statement, the second since February, expressed concern about escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah and said the risk of a wider regional war made a ceasefire in Gaza all the more urgent. 

The statement came hours after US Vice President Kamala Harris pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help reach a Gaza ceasefire deal that would ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than President Joe Biden.