The Israeli Air Force attacked the territory of Damascus International Airport for the third time in the last month. According to the press service of the National Center for Defense Management of the Russian Federation, the next strike by air guided missiles was recorded on Sunday, January 20, at 13:32 Moscow time. It was carried out by four aircraft of the Israeli Air Force F-16 from the Mediterranean.
“The forces of the air defense of the Syrian Arab army repulsed an air attack by Israeli air forces on the international airport in the southeast of Damascus. Anti-aircraft missile systems "Pantsir" and "Beech" destroyed seven Israeli missiles, "- said in a statement.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the airport infrastructure has not suffered.
“There are no victims and destructions,” the defense department explained.
Earlier that the bombing of the territory of the air port by Israel was not crowned with success, RIA Novosti reported, citing a Syrian military source. “All missiles were shot down, none of them reached the goal,” the source said.
In turn, the military source of the Syrian agency SANA also stressed that the national air defense systems demonstrated "high efficiency" and did not allow the enemy forces to hit "none of the goals" in the southern region of Syria.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Jewish state reported that the territory of their country was also subjected to rocket fire.
“Some time ago the rocket was launched across the northern part of the Golan Heights and was intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system,” the press service of the Israel Defense Forces said.
Note that this publication was made almost two hours after the air strike on the territory of the SAR. No other details of the incident are given.
It is worth noting that a few hours after the air strikes on the Syrian airport on Twitter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a comment in which the politician reiterated his readiness to confront Iran in the SAR.
"We have a consistent policy: to harm the Iranian representatives in Syria and cause harm to anyone who tries to harm us," wrote Netanyahu on Twitter.
A short while ago, the Aerial Defense System. pic.twitter.com/RXM7OvdeyJ
- Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 20, 2019Aggravation due to the role of Iran
We emphasize that Israel has increased the frequency of air strikes on the territory of Syria after the announcement of the United States of America about the withdrawal of its military contingent from the Arab Republic.
At the same time, on December 25, 2018, the Israeli air force posed a direct threat to two passenger planes landing at the Lebanese airports in Beirut and the Syrian capital. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation described the incident as “provocative actions”.
Recall that on that day, Israeli aircraft launched strikes on the SAR, dropping 16 GBU-39 guided bombs - Syrian air defenses eliminated 14 of them. The remaining two shells hit the territory of the logistics center of the 138th brigade of the Syrian army, three soldiers were injured.
Last week, F-16 fighters allegedly attacked “Iranian arms depots” at Damascus International Airport. At the same time, two “terrorist targets” of the Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip were hit. In addition, Israeli soldiers announced the discovery of a Hezbollah tunnel on the border with Lebanon.
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the air strikes carried out demonstrate Israel’s determination to “prevent Iran’s military consolidation in Syria.” Later, the head of the Jewish state government accused Tehran of lying about the nuclear program and the launch of a space satellite.
“We face an important factor: Iran and Iranian weapons, as well as Iran’s ongoing lies. I tell the Iranians to leave Syria as soon as possible, as we continue our aggressive policy, ”Netanyahu said.
Meanwhile, the Damascus authorities demanded an assessment of the fact of "perfidious aggression" by Israel, which is thus trying to "prolong the crisis and the war against terrorists in Syria." In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Syria sent letters to the UN and the Security Council of the World Organization.
“The United States or Israel cannot justify this aggression with any arguments or pretexts. This is aggression in the full sense of the word. These attacks will not achieve what they could not achieve earlier in Syria, ”said Assistant Head of the Syrian Foreign Ministry Ayman Susan.