Israeli Strikes in Southern Syria

An American report has shown that the latest round of Israeli airstrikes on Syria damaged a landing runway at Damascus International Airport. (Reuters file photo)
An American report has shown that the latest round of Israeli airstrikes on Syria damaged a landing runway at Damascus International Airport. (Reuters file photo)
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Israeli Strikes in Southern Syria

An American report has shown that the latest round of Israeli airstrikes on Syria damaged a landing runway at Damascus International Airport. (Reuters file photo)
An American report has shown that the latest round of Israeli airstrikes on Syria damaged a landing runway at Damascus International Airport. (Reuters file photo)

Israeli tanks fired Wednesday on suspects along the Syrian border in the Golan Heights after they were detected near its forces, the military said.

"A short time ago during army activity in the Golan Heights, soldiers identified suspects close to a military position and fired in their direction from tanks," the army said in a brief statement.

"The suspects then moved away into Syrian territory," it added.

In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel seized part of the strategic Golan Heights -- bordered by Lebanon, which patrols there -- from Syria, AFP reported.

The official Syrian news agency SANA said Israeli forces had also "attacked with tank shells the forests of Al-Hurriyah village" in the Syrian province of Quneitra, which borders the Israeli-occupied section of Golan Heights.

SANA added that Israeli helicopters and reconnaissance planes also flew over the area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor, said a fire broke out in the forest near the village and that there had been Israeli helicopters present, but did not mention casualties.

Israel considers this part area of southern Syria to be a "second front" of Hezbollah, which is close to Israel's arch-foe Iran.

Since 2011 and the outbreak of Syria's civil war, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory, targeting government positions as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters.

Israel says it is trying to prevent Iran, one of Damascus' key allies in the decade-old civil conflict, from gaining a permanent military foothold on its doorstep.

On Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Force said it had shot down a small Hezbollah observation drone flown over the heavily guarded Israel-Lebanon border.



Netanyahu Says Israel Won't Stop Striking Hezbollah

Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Netanyahu Says Israel Won't Stop Striking Hezbollah

Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is striking Lebanon’s Hezbollah “with full force” and won’t stop until its goals are achieved.

Netanyahu spoke as he landed in New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly meeting and as US, European and some Arab officials were pressing for a 21-day halt in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to give time for negotiations.

Netanyahu said Israel’s “policy is clear. We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force. And we will not stop until we reach all our goals, chief among them the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes.”

He added that he approved the “targeted killing operation” of the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit in south Beirut Thursday.

Israel has dramatically escalated strikes in Lebanon this week, saying it is targeting Hezbollah. Israeli leaders have said they are determined to stop more than 11 months of cross-border fire by the group into Israel, which has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from communities in the north.