IDF carries out airstrikes in southern Syria in response to rocket fire

Oct 30, 2023

Tel Aviv [Israel], October 30 : The Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes at multiple sites in southern Syria in response to rocket fire on the Golan Heights hours earlier, Times of Israel reported in the early hours of Monday.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck launchers responsible for the cross-border fire.
"In response to the launches: the IDF attacked the launchers from which the launches were carried out from Syrian territory. An IDF fighter jet attacked a short time ago the launchers from which the launches were made from Syrian territory towards Israeli territory last night," IDF posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The IDF had earlier said that a number of rockets were fired from Syria at northern Israel.
Notably, there is no acknowledgement of the strikes from official Syrian media, but Hebrew-language media cite unspecified local reports of Israeli strikes near Daraa in southern Syria, Times of Israel reported.
The IDF earlier said it had shelled the source of the launches in an immediate reaction to the rocket fire, which occured at around 9:45 pm (local time).
All of the projectiles launched from Syria landed in open areas, causing no damage or injuries, the IDF said.
Israeli Air Force meanwhile continued its late night operation targeted at Hezbollah inside Lebanon. The IDF said that n Air Force aircraft attacked targets of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanese territory, in response to launches towards the territory of Israel. Among the targets that were attacked are infrastructure for directing terrorism and military infrastructures of the organization.
Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli ground forces continue to operate in the northern section of the Gaza Strip, killing Hamas terrorists and destroying the facilities of the terror group, The Times of Israel reported.
According to the IDF, troops killed a number of Hamas gunmen who opened fire on ground forces in Gaza, as well as other terrorists identified on a beach in Gaza near the southern Israeli village of Zikim. Ground soldiers, including tanks, hit anti-tank guided missile positions, observation posts, and other Hamas infrastructure, The Times of Israel reported, citing the Israeli Defence Forces.
The conflict in Gaza escalated after the October 7 attack by Hamas, where about 2,500 terrorists breached the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip, leading to casualties and the seizure of hostages.
Israel has characterised its Gaza offensive as targeting Hamas' infrastructure with the goal of eliminating the entire terror group while making efforts to minimise civilian casualties, The Times of Israel reported.
At least 7,326 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. More than 1,400 people were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel.