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Israel launched missiles into Syria last Wednesday, targeting what was believed to be a Syrian Army base just south of Damascus.
Al Jazeera, citing Syria’s SANA news agency, reported that the surface-to-surface missiles caused material damage to buildings in Zakiya, a town south of the capital city.
The report said the missiles did not trigger Syria’s missile defenses—and were the second such strike in a month. SANA reported that the missiles were fired from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
“The shelling targeted a regime military post,” Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told the AFP.
Critics of Israel took to social media to accuse Tel Aviv of firing the missiles while the focus of the world is on Ukraine. Sarah Abdallah, a Lebanese geopolitical commentator, took to Twitter to post, “While all eyes are on Ukraine, Israel just bombed Syria’s Damascus, terrorizing Syrians in the middle of the night.”
(See “ISRAEL CONDUCTS SERIES OF DEADLY AIRSTRIKES IN SYRIA,” “TERROR STRIKES SYRIA: ALL OUT WAR COMING?” and “ISRAEL KEEPS BOMBING SYRIA.”)
Israel sees proxy forces in Syria as an existential threat because it is widely seen that Israel cannot fight a war on multiple fronts. Israel has admitted to launching hundreds of airstrikes into Syria that target Iranian troops, military targets and allied groups such as Hezbollah who, along with Russia, are supporting the government of Bashar al-Assad.
The military base that was targeted was believed to be used by pro-Iranian militias, The Times of Israel reported.
The decision to use surface-to-surface may have stemmed from a recent meeting between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The paper reported that Israel agreed to “rely less on airstrikes” because Russia provided al-Assad with the anti-missile batteries, which have been easily defeated by Israeli rockets. The agreement was reportedly put in place so Russia is not embarrassed.
TREND FORECAST: The Trends Journal has reported on the relationship between Israel and Syria. (See “ISRAEL CONDUCTS SERIES OF DEADLY AIRSTRIKES IN SYRIA,” “TERROR STRIKES SYRIA: ALL OUT WAR COMING?” and “ISRAEL KEEPS BOMBING SYRIA.”)
As we have forecast, with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett taking over from former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, considering who he is and what he stands for, we forecast it will be a continued escalation against Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran.
And should war escalate in the Middle East, so too will oil prices which will in turn dramatically increase inflation and damage economic growth.