Airstrike in Syria (illustration)
Airstrike in Syria (illustration)iStock

On Sunday night, the Israeli air force (IAF) carried out one of its largest missions against Iran- and Hezbollah-related targets in Syria to date.

According to Syrian and Lebanese media IAF warplanes launched a large number of air to surface missiles at targets in the town of Kisweh, which houses the headquarters of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Sahnaya a Damascus suburb, and the port town of Tartus which is home to a Russian naval base and a port leased by the IRGC.

Six cruise missiles were furthermore fired from the Mediterranean Sea while Syrian air defenses launched at least 13 missiles towards the incoming Israeli projectiles.

One of these Syrian missiles apparently went astray and exploded in Turkey-occupied northern Cyprus causing a blaze but no injuries or damage.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights initially claimed 4 Syrians were killed and scores of others wounded during the Israeli airstrikes. The death toll later climbed to 16 according to Syrian media.

The 91st military division base of the IRGC in Damascus was one of the targets hit while the Jamraya Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), which was used for the development of chemical weapons, was another one.

The IAF also targeted a watchtower used by Hezbollah in the town of Tell al-Hara a strategic point overlooking the Golan Heights according to Syrian observers.

This was the second time in a month the Israeli military bombed Tell al-Hara which is one of approx. 20 lookouts from where Hezbollah and the Syrian army follow the movements of the IDF.

The presence of Hezbollah fugitives in the vicinity of the Israeli border constitutes a flagrant breach of the !974 Separation of Forces agreement which was reintroduced after the Syrian army recaptured southern Syria last year.

According to new provisions added to the agreement after Russian mediation, the Quds Brigade and Hezbollah were supposed to remain at least 80 kilometers from the Israeli border.

Hezbollah commanders are, furthermore, controlling Syrian army units. One of them is Munir Ali Naim Shaiti, better known under his nom de guerre Hajj Hashem who is heading the Syrian Army’s ‘Southern Command’ in the Hauran region near Daraa.

The force is in the possession of anti-tank and short range surface to surface missiles with a payload of 250 kilograms and is actively preparing for a future conflict with the Israeli military.

Currently the Southern Command’s main task is intelligence gathering using sophisticated technology which enables Hezbollah and the Syrian army to eavesdrop on the Israeli military.

Hezbollah in southern Syria is also working to build up its offensive capabilities an effort led by senior terrorist Ali Musa Daqduq who is wanted by the US for carrying out deadly attacks on American soldiers in Iraq.

Daqduq is recruiting members of disgruntled Sunni Islamist militias who were defeated by Assad’s forces in the summer of 2018 in order to establish a new terrorist organization which will direct its activities at Israel.

The new Israeli raids in Syria show that the IAF has retained its ability to operate against Hezbollah and the Quds Force despite the presence of the Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile shield which is now reportedly fully operable.

Satellite images released by the Israeli company ImageSat International revealed that the Syrian army has deployed four S-300 batteries near the town of Masyaf which has been the scene of earlier IAF attacks.

The images showed that the S-300 batteries were now accompanied by a radar system which can detect warplanes several hundreds of kilometres from the site where the system is stationed.

The IAF has carried out roughly 1,000 airstrikes against Iran-related targets in Syria over the past few years former IDF Chief-of-Staff Gadi Eisenkot revealed in an interview with The New York Times.

Iran hasn’t given up on its goal to entrench itself in several Middle Eastern countries and is using its many proxies to carry out attacks against the US-led anti-Iran coalition which includes Saudi-Arabia and Israel.

The Quds Force of the IRGC recently activated the Hash al-Shaabi umbrella organization of predominantly Shiite militias in Iraq to attack US-related targets in Iraq and an oil pumping station in Saudi-Arabia.

On May 14. Hash al-Shaabi used a drone-bomb to destroy the oil installation in central Saudi-Arabia while the Iraqi military blocked US Air Force excess to Iraqi airspace at the same time.

The attack was carried out by the Iranian-found Kataib Hezbollah militia which is integrated in Hash al-Shaabi.

Military experts think Iran’s strategy for taking over parts of the Middle East could eventually lead to a much wider conflict and even a world war.

They could be right.

As we will see Iran also continues to meddle in the Palestinian Israeli conflict and has been caught trying to establish spy cells in the so-called West Bank, Judea and Samaria in the center of Israel.

Iran also continues to supply rockets and other weaponry to its proxies in Gaza and trains scores of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists according to Hamas operative Hamza Ismail Abu Shanab.

Abu Shanab revealed that the Iranians have helped Hamas and PIJ develop a central command in Gaza and are providing assistance with the digging of new terror tunnels.