“This was the work of Islamic Jihad, an organisation financed and working for Iran, and we consider the Syrian government responsible for the firing and it will suffer the consequences”, the army said in a statement.
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In an intense cross-border skirmish Thursday and Friday, Israeli artillery and aircraft struck more than a dozen military installations in southern Syria, as well as an alleged jihadist cell, in response to four rockets fired into northern Israel.
The raid came after an Israeli military spokesperson said that rockets had hit the occupied Golan Heights, Al Jazeera reported.
The Israeli army said it carried out the air strike in retaliation for rocket strikes into northern Israel on Thursday, which it said were fired from Syria.
But Islamic Jihad said those killed were not among its own.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Friday morning that the strike was proof that Israel will not tolerate efforts to harm the security of its citizens.
Though Israel has no plans to “escalate” the situation, Netanyahu’s office will uphold its policy.
A spokesman for Islamic Jihad in Gaza denied the allegations that it was behind the rocket attack.
Syrian state TV stated an Israeli drone strike on Friday focused a “civilian automotive” near a busy market within the village of Kom, killing 5 individuals.
Yaalon, in an earlier statement, said Thursday’s attack on Israel was launched from positions under the control of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
“The countries rushing to embrace Iran should know that it was an Iranian commander who directed and supported the cell that fired at Israel”, he said in a statement.
“Israel held the Syrian government responsible for the attacks, retaliating with its largest assault on Syrian territory in decades”, ToI reported.
Ynet, an Israel news site, cited an Israeli army officer as saying the men were members of Islamic Jihad acting “under Israeli auspices”.
Others say Iran will never miss an opportunity to shed Israeli blood, as long as it doesn’t leave a trace behind. They were quite different from previous strikes on Israel from Iranian proxies in Syria, which usually target a specific individual or convoy.
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On Thursday, Israel targeted 14 Syrian army positions in Quneitra, a southern Syrian city in the Golan Heights. He is Saad Ezadi, in charge of the Israeli desk in the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
