Israel Katz says Syrian president Sharaa ‘directly responsible’ for threats to Israel

Defense Minister Israel Katz stated he held Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa “directly responsible for every threat and firing towards the State of Israel, and the full response will come as soon as possible,” in response to a barrage of rockets fired from southern Syria on Tuesday evening.

Sirens sounded in villages and towns across northern Israel and the Golan Heights, following the barrage, the military said. 

The IDF responded with artillery fire on southern Syria in response to the attack.

Defense sources told The Jerusalem Post that as of now, it is unclear whether the missile launch from Yemen and the rocket launch from Syria were coordinated, and sources noted that the military is investigating. 

Additionally, the sources said that the rockets were fired from deep in Syria, beyond the buffer zone with Israel, indicating that the entity that launched the rockets used a medium-range rocket. Sources also told the Post that it is still unclear which group was behind the attack. 

Rocket sirens were triggered in Hispin in the Golan Heights, Nof Hagalil, Kfar Tavor, and Nazareth. The Jezreel Valley Regional Council later confirmed that the sirens that sounded in Nazareth were activated due to the missile launch from Yemen, which triggered sirens across central Israel. However, the military later said that the sirens that were activated at 10:00 p.m. in the Lower Galilee were a false identification. 

The IDF confirmed that initial rocket fire from Syria fell in an open area, causing no harm or damage. Minutes later, a second barrage of rockets was fired into northern Israel. It was unclear whether the second barrage towards northern Israel was fired from Syria. 

Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that the launches were launched from the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria. 

“We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7,” Katz stated. 

This is the first time that rockets have been launched from Syrian territory into Israel since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024, and President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s rise to power. 

Amichai Stein contributed to this report. This is a developing story.

JPost