Syria accuses Israel of escalation following Daraa strike

Syria’s foreign ministry condemned an Israeli strike on the Syrian province of Daraa, saying that it caused “significant human and material losses,” state news agency SANA reported early on Wednesday.

The strike came after a barrage of rockets fired from southern Syria on Tuesday evening, which Defense Minister Israel Katz said he held Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa “directly responsible” for.

The Syrian foreign ministry stated it had not verified the accuracy of the IDF’s claims of rockets.

“We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilize the region to achieve their own interests,” the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“We affirm that Syria has not and will not pose a threat to any party in the region, and that the top priority in southern Syria lies in extending the authority of the state and ending the presence of weapons outside the framework of official institutions, in a way that ensures the achievement of security and stability for all citizens,” the statement read.

The ministry stated that Israel’s response constituted a “blatant violation of Syrian sovereignty and increases tension in the region at a time when we are most in need of calm and peaceful solutions.”

It is unclear if missiles from Syria, Yemen were coordinated

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. 

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.

Later, a Palestinian terror organization calling itself the Martyr Muhammad al-Deif Brigades claimed the rocket barrage. 

The IDF reported that it later struck in separate parts in southern Syria. 

JPost