Israeli strikes in Syria prove deadly

At least one person was killed by Israeli air strikes in Syria following the firing of rockets into the Golan Heights and the Galilee.

The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it targeted the cell that launched rockets at northern Israel from Syria on Thursday, and that at least four people were believed to have been killed a car some six miles inside Syria in territory held by the Syrian army.

“We were monitoring this cell,” an unnamed IDF source was quoted by Israeli media as saying Friday. “This is an Islamic Jihad cell directed by Iran.”

A Syrian military source said Friday that one person was killed. “The enemy aircraft struck a military position in the area of Quneitra at 11:30 p.m. (20:30 GMT Thursday), martyring one and wounding eight soldiers,” said the source quoted by the official Syrian news agency SANA.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least two people were killed in the strikes, possibly two military officials close to Syrian President Bashar Assad. According to the report, the Israeli strikes included a raid on a target outside Damascus and on a weapons depot belonging to the Syrian military. Syrian state television said the fatalities were unarmed civilians.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Friday morning that the strike was proof that Israel will not tolerate efforts to harm the security of its citizens.

“We have no intention of compromising on this issue, and I suggest no one test our resolve on this matter,” he said.