Israel and Syria exchange fire following factory airstrike

An Israeli attack on a factory in a Syrian industrial town south of Homs prompts an exchange of fire between the two neighbouring countries.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

02 November, 2017

Tensions between Israel and Syria have risen since 2011 [AFP]

A factory south of the Syrian city of Homs was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday, leading to an exchange of fire between Israeli and Syrian forces, a commander fighting for a Syrian pro-government group said.

Syria's army reportedly responded to the attack by firing a surface-to-air missile at the Israeli military aircraft.

According to the commander who spoke to Reuters, the site struck by the Israeli attack was a copper factory in the town of Hisya. It is unknown whether any casulaties were caused by the strike.

Israel's military has given no comment on the incident, however local television broadcaster Channel 10 reported that the Israeli jets returned to their base without damage.

Tensions on the border between Israel and Syria have stepped up in recent years, largely due to the involvement of Iran and Hizballah in Syria's war.

Israel has alleged that Iranian arms factories are being set up in Syria and Lebanon, and has also exchanged threats of all-out war with the Hizballah group.

Israel's air force claims it has in the past year carried out around 100 strikes against arms convoys belonging to Iran and Hizballah in recent years.

Last month, it also claimed that five rounds of rockets were launched at the northern Golan, which is occupied by Israel.

It warned that it would intensify its response if stray fire from the Syrian conflict continued to fall in Israeli territory.

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

The two countries remain technically at war, although before the eruption of the conflict inside Syria in 2011 the armistice line remained largely quiet.