Israel has struck Iranian military sites in Syria to prevent what it said was a pending drone strike by Iran.
Israel’s military rarely acknowledges operations in Syria, but it claimed on Saturday its strikes had prevented an attack on Israel “using killer drones”.
PM Benjamin Netanyahu hailed his military’s “major operational effort”. In a tweet, Mr Netanyahu said: “I reiterate: Iran has no immunity anywhere. Our forces operate in every sector against the Iranian aggression. ‘If someone rises up to kill you, kill him first.'”
An Israeli military spokesman said the strikes on Saturday targeted the Quds Force of the Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) in Aqraba, south-east of the capital, Damascus.
A Syrian military source quoted by the official Sana news agency said that Syrian anti-aircraft defences “detected enemy targets from Golan heading towards the area around Damascus”.
The head of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said two Lebanese nationals had been killed in the Israeli strike, which he said targeted Hezbollah positions.
