Israel Strikes Syria’s Damascus, Says Target Is Palestinian Islamic Jihad Positions (Videos)

Late on February 23, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out a new series of airstrikes on the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The Syrian News Arab Agency (SANA) claimed that the Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces (SyAADF) intercepted most of the “hostile targets.” According to the state-run agency, the aerial attack was launched from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

In a rare move, the Israeli military claimed responsibility for the airstrikes. The military said that several positions of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in southern Damascus were targeted.

“In the area of Adliya, in the countryside of Damascus, a location belonging to the Islamic Jihad, an important stronghold of the movement in Syria, has been targeted. In the position, the organization is conducting research and development for combat methods, assessing if they are suitable for production in the Gaza Strip and for local production inside Syria,” Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said on Twitter.

The Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital coincided with similar strikes on PIJ positions in the Gaza Strip. A few hours earlier, Palestinian fighters believed to be from the PIJ launched a barrage of rockets at Israeli settlements around the Gaza Strip. The rocket attack was a response to the killing of a PIJ fighter by the Israeli military.

This was not the first Israeli attack on PIJ assets in Syria, a key backer of the Palestinian group. Last November, Israel targeted PIJ senior leader Akram al-Ajouri in Damascus. However, he survived the attack.

The new wave of Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital may have targeted PIJ officials, not only positions. The coming few hours will likely reveal more information about the targets of the airstrikes.

https://youtu.be/UhmF_4q3jxw

https://youtu.be/3YqBHVY9nAg

https://southfront.org/israel-strikes-syrias-damascus-says-target-is-palestinian-islamic-jihad-positions-videos/

IDF strikes Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, Syria

Sites in Syria including a compound used a "hub" for the group's activity

The IDF struck numerous targets belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group in Syria and throughout the Gaza Strip following rocket fire towards southern Israel over the course of Sunday evening.

The military said that Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck PIJ targets south of the capital of Damascus, including a compound which was “used as a hub of Islamic Jihad’s activity in Syria” as well as dozens of terror targets belonging to the group across in the Strip.

Palestinian media said that two PIJ operatives were killed in the strike, as Walla reported.

According to the IDF, the strike against the PIJ compound in the area of Al Adleyeh, south of Damascus, targeted a site where the group conducts research and development of weapons, both by adapting them to manufacturing in the Gaza Strip, as well as for local manufacturing in Syria.

At the site, the group also manufactured dozens of kilograms of AP - a modern fuel used in solid-propellant rockets. It also served as a technical training camp for terror operatives from the Gaza Strip and from the north.

Dozens of PIJ terrorist targets were also struck by IAF jets, including underground infrastructures and compounds in the area of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip which were used to store raw materials used to produce rockets.

In Khan Yunis, Israel struck the headquarters of the group’s Khan Yunis Brigade which included a compound for training with anti-tank missiles as well as military equipment used by the group’s naval commando force.

In Beit Lahia, a military training compound of the Islamic Jihad was targeted.

“The attacks were carried out in response to the attempted terror attack this morning on the perimeter fence and the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory,” the military statement read.

“The IDF will respond to any terror acts of the Islamic Jihad that endanger Israeli civilians and harm its sovereignty. The IDF views the rocket attack towards Israeli territory with great severity, is prepared and will continue operating as necessary against attempts to harm Israeli civilians.”

Over 25 rockets were launched towards southern Israel in several barrages on Sunday evening. The IDF confirmed that it had struck a PIJ terror cell preparing to launch rockets from the northern part of the Strip. Palestinians reported that there were at least four injured in the strike.

“At this time, the IDF is striking terror sites belonging to the PIJ terror group in the Gaza Strip,” the military said at the time, adding that it would provide more information about the targets in the future.

Hamas and PIJ had earlier threatened to avenge the death of a terrorist by the IDF after he tried to plant explosives along the Gaza border fence early Sunday morning.

Video from the scene uploaded to social media on Sunday morning showed a crowd of Palestinian youth throwing stones towards an Israeli bulldozer sent to retrieve the body of the dead suspect.

He was identified as 27 year-old Muhammed Ali al-Na’im, a commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military wing, the Al-Quds Brigade, in the Khan Younis area.

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/IDF-hits-Palestinian-Islamic-Jihad-targets-in-Gaza-and-Syria-618547