Israel has carried out further strikes in Syria despite repeated warnings from the Syrian government, reports said on Saturday.
Earlier, Israel carried out a second airstrike after the initial one near the presidential palace in Damascus that Syria’s de facto leader called a “dangerous escalation.”
The Syrian leadership has said that these repeated violations are threatening the peace between the countries, adding that this is setting a precedent that Israelis are now seeking to open another front.
Several Israeli military strikes have been reported locally across the country late on Friday, including around Damascus and its vicinity, as well as in the countryside of Hama, about 200km (124 miles) northeast of the capital.
The Israeli army has said it received orders from Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz after identifying targets.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it had attacked a military site in Syria, as well as “anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missile infrastructure.”
Tensions between Israel and Syria have soared this week after the Israeli government accused the Syrian authorities of failing to protect the country’s Druze minority.
“We will not allow Syrian forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community,” Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Katz shortly after the attack.
Later in the day, al-Sharaa’s office described the Israeli military strikes near the palace as a “reprehensible attack that reflects the continued reckless actions seeking to destabilise the country and exacerbate security crises.”
“Syria will not compromise its sovereignty or security and will continue to defend the rights of its people by all available means,” it said, urging Arab states and the international community to support the country.
Netanyahu’s move is being seen as a ploy to divert attention from his country inflicting the harshest collective punishment on the population of Gaza.
Shortly after his statement, Druze leadership rejected his role, saying that “they don’t need Israel to help protect them.”
He added that “intense negotiations” have been taking place between the Syrian Druze community and the government. “This has now led to a calming down of tensions,” they added.
Meanwhile, Qatar condemned the Israeli air strikes on Friday, saying the attack was “a blatant aggression” against Syria’s sovereignty and a violation of international law.
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs also warned that Israel’s “repeated aggressions” against Syria and Lebanon, coupled with its continued war on the Gaza Strip, “are likely to ignite a cycle of violence and chaos in the region.”
