Russian-Israeli Dispute Erupts over Delivery of S-300 System to Syria

Russia plans to go ahead with arming Syria with the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. (Getty Images)
Russia plans to go ahead with arming Syria with the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. (Getty Images)
TT

Russian-Israeli Dispute Erupts over Delivery of S-300 System to Syria

Russia plans to go ahead with arming Syria with the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. (Getty Images)
Russia plans to go ahead with arming Syria with the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. (Getty Images)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated that his country intended to provide Syria with the advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems.

He said that the US, British and French strikes against Syria last week lifted “moral obligations” that were deterring Moscow from going through with the deal.

“Now, we have no moral obligations. We had the moral obligations, we had promised not to do it some 10 years ago, I think, upon the request of our known partners,” he said according to RIA.

He added that Moscow had respected the Western claim that supplying Syria with such arms would destabilize the region, even though the system plays a defensive role.

“After the recent attack however, we see no reason to commit to those pledges,” said the minister.

It appears that the delivery of the system is now only awaiting the signal from Russia President Vladimir Putin, in a move that will anger Israel.

An Israeli official had previously threatened to strike the S-300 system if they are deployed in Syria.

The delivery of the system will be a precedent because it will threaten the balance of regional powers.

Russia’s statements on Friday can therefore be interpreted as political and military messages to not only the United States, but Israel as well. Moscow has long preserved a delicate balance with Tel Aviv, while also maintaining ties with its rivals, Tehran and Damascus.

Former head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate Amos Yadlin had confirmed that Russia will soon deploy the system in Syria.

“A plan has been set in place to deal with this threat. We will return to square one after eliminating this threat, which is exactly what we intend to do.”

The delivery of the S-300 system will not be a long process because the new batteries for these missile had already been sent to Syria in October 2016. This week’s announcement on the system only entails their redeployment at vital Syrian locations, such as airports, instead of their current positions near the Hmeimem and Tartus Russian bases.

Moscow had supplied Syria with the S-300 system in 2016 to counter “Washington’s mounting threats to carry out military operations against Syrian positions.”

The US, meanwhile, is also worried about the new system, not only due to its concern over its ally, Israel, but because it is aware that the S-300 can be merged with the S-400 system.

The merger will form a strong defense against any attack, stated Russian Colonel General Andrei Kartapolov.

Moreover, the US concern can also be traced to who controls the S-300 system in Syria. Having the Russians control the system is one thing, but having the regime control it is another.

Regardless of the discrepancy in estimates over the number of rockets that were intercepted, the truth remains that the Syrian defenses managed to mobilize to confront an attack. This alone is a cause for concern and supplying Damascus with the S-300 will be an even greater concern.

It becomes clear now why the Russia chose this week, in wake of the strike, to announce that it intends to deliver the new missile system to Syria. It was only waiting for the right time to do so and the Western strike was the excuse it needed.



Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
TT

Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the group's heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with ceasefire efforts to halt the all-out war.

Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said.  

The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the fighters.

Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

Hezbollah fires rockets after strikes on Beirut  

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several top commanders.

The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there.  

In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing.

The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether the injuries and damage elsewhere were caused by rockets or interceptors.

Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later.

Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted Hezbollah command centers in the southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, where the group has a strong presence.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

EU envoy calls for pressure to reach a truce  

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week.

The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was "pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.”

Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group.

Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208 million) to assist the Lebanese military, which would deploy additional forces to the south.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of UN peacekeepers.