Israel

The Syrian city of Damascus was hit by missile strikes at dawn on Thursday morning and according to the official news source SANA, warehouses and a fuel tank were damaged. The Israelis reported conducted the missile attack at the Damascus airport.

But according to Syrian rebel forces, the missiles struck an arms depot used by Hezbollah. Hezbollah and its main source of support, Iran, are backing the government forces of Assad and are considered by Israel to be their worst enemy.

The Israelis issued a statement in which the said that the explosion was “consistent” with its policy to prevent Iran smuggling weapons to Hezbollah. But their statement stopped short of claiming responsibility for the strikes.

The Israelis according to Haaretz said ‘Hours before the blasts, which took place at 3:25 A.M., two Iranian 747 cargo planes, an Iranian Ilyushin il-76 and a Syrian Ilyushin il-76 landed in Damascus, according to the flight radar tracking site Flightradar24.com. The flights were both military and commercial, all taking off from Tehran, Iran.’

Two senior rebel sources based in Damascus told Reuters news agency that the missiles had hit an ammunition depot in a closed military area that was used by Iran-backed militias operating alongside the Syrian army, led by Hezbollah.
Appearing to confirm Israeli involvement, Intelligence Minister Israel Katz told Israeli Army Radio: “I can confirm that the incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel’s policy to act to prevent Iran’s smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah in Iran. Naturally, I don’t want to elaborate on this.”
“The prime minister has said that whenever we receive intelligence that indicated an intention to transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah, we will act.”
The Israeli military declined to comment on the reports.

With the Russians reportedly strengthening the Syrian air defenses after the US cruise missile strike earlier this month, there were questions on how Israel would act. The Israelis hit Hezbollah targets since the civil war began.

An earlier attack this month destroyed 100 missiles destined for Hezbollah. But the Syrians launched missiles at Israel earlier this month as well. One of them was intercepted by Israeli missile defense systems.

The Israeli’s and Benjamin Netanyahu have made it clear that they’ll continue to hit any Hezbollah targets as they see fit.

To read the entire article from BBC click here:

Photo courtesy AFP

The former head of Israel’s naval Special Operations unit has died while on vacation in Thailand.

Gadi Shefi,76, died of an apparent heart attack in a hotel room in Pattaya, where he was found over the weekend. He had been missing for a week before his son announced his death Tuesday on Facebook.

“At this hard and painful time, we want to thank everyone for the help in finding our father,” Ari Shefi wrote.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it is assisting the family in bringing Shefi’s body to Israel.
Shefi headed the Flotilla13 special operations unit from 1976 to 1978, during which he oversaw a number of then-secret operations into Lebanon.
Writing on Twitter Tuesday, former prime minister and IDF chief of staff Ehud Barak described Shefi as a “courageous warrior, a man of truth and an outstanding symbol of leading by personal example.

Flotilla 13 or Shayetet 13 is the Israeli equivalent of the US Navy’s SEAL teams or the British SBS. The unit was very active in the Lebanon war during the mid-to-late 1970s. They conducted 22 successful raids and 13 ambushes against enemy combatants.

Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, sabotage, maritime intelligence gathering, maritime hostage rescue, and boarding. The unit is trained for sea, air and land actions. The unit has taken part in almost all of Israel’s major wars, as well as other actions. It was founded in 1949 and its motto is: “As the bat emerges from the darkness, As the blade cuts through with silence, As the grenade smashes in rage.” In addition, the unit also referred to as “People of Silence”.

In a bit of coincidence, or perhaps not, another Israeli government employee the head of the Binyamina Regional Council in Israel died Saturday after suffering an apparent heart attack while vacationing with his family in Vietnam. Pinhas Zoaretz, 53, was a colonel in the IDF before becoming the regional council head in 2013.

To read the entire article from the Times of Israel click here:

Photo courtesy Facebook

“Israeli Missile Strike” Hits Damascus Airport in Syria

Former Israeli Special Operations Commander Gadi Shefi Found Dead in Thailand