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Syria intercepts Israeli strike: state media
DAMASCUS, Dec 25, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Syrian air defences on Friday
intercepted missiles fired by Israel on the western province of Hama, state
news agency SANA said.
“Our air defences intercepted an Israeli attack on the Masyaf area” in
rural Hama, SANA reported.
Syrian state TV aired footage purporting to show air defences responding to
the Israeli attack.
Israeli warplanes were heard flying over neighbouring Lebanon shortly
before the strikes, according to AFP correspondents.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported strikes
on Masyaf, saying Israel was “likely responsible”.
The war monitor said the attack targeted “positions of regime forces and
Iran-backed militias,” without providing additional details.
Israel, which did not immediately comment on the reports, has launched
hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011.
It has targeted government troops, allied Iranian forces and fighters from
the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
It rarely confirms details of its operations in Syria, but says Iran’s
presence in support of President Bashar al-Assad is a threat and that it will
continue its strikes.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0924 hrs