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Israel fears fire exchange with Syria could indicate strategic shift

Israel strikes military targets in Damascus amid increased concerns over Syria-Russia ties.
Israeli soldiers stand near a Merkava IV battle tank parked in a military post near the Syrian border in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Jan. 24, 2022.

Syria’s air defense systems were activated at 1 a.m. local time on Feb. 9 (2300 GMT, Feb. 8) and Syrian state media reported that the “Israeli enemy” had allegedly carried out an aerial strike on Syria from an area northeast of Beirut. This was followed 10 minutes later by a surface-to-surface missile attack from the Golan Heights area. According to the report, the attacks were directed at targets in the Damascus suburbs, killing one soldier.

In a highly unusual response to the persistent strikes attributed to Israel in Syria, warning sirens also went off in Israel at 1:05 a.m. (2305 GMT) in the Arab-Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm and in northern Israeli West Bank settlements. Shortly thereafter, the Israeli military announced that it had identified an inbound SA-5 surface-to-air missile fired indiscriminately by Syrian air defenses. Unlike most similar instances in the past, Israel did not attempt to intercept the missile, presuming that unlike ballistic missiles that it is adept at heading off, SA-5s are harder to intercept. The missile eventually exploded in the air, with fragments and debris falling inside Israel and residents reporting explosions.

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