Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday confirmed IDF air force attacks on terror groups in Damascus.
Defense sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post earlier that, according to Syrian media reports, the targets were Islamic Jihad locations in Syria’s capital city and added that the groups were planning future terror operations against Israel.
Put differently, sources indicated that the targeted groups were not merely Islamic Jihad terrorists who had harmed Israel in the past but were part of an active upcoming threat, though the Post was not given any timeframe.לדברי הערוץ, התקיפה כוונה למבנה. מקור ביטחוני סורי לערוץ אל-חדת': יעד התקיפה בפרברי דמשק הוא אישיות פלסטינית | תיעוד@guy_telaviv @kaisos1987 https://t.co/Mf6Mxzbf1l pic.twitter.com/K28Lt1gMuT
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The IDF said that its Northern Command and Intelligence Command had helped precisely target an Islamic Jihad headquarters from which terror attacks against Israel had been planned.
Katz said, “There will be no impunity for Islamic terror against Israel in Damascus, nor in any other area,” with the IDF echoing that sentiment.
Continuing, he stated, “Anywhere that terror groups organize against Israel, the extremist Islamist leader Julani [Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa] will find air force jets hovering above and attacking the terror targets.”
“We will not allow Syria to change into a threat to the State of Israel,” he added.
Implications of the attack on Syria
The attack marks a major escalation by Israel against terror groups in Syria and a more direct affront to Sharaa’s new regime, given that until now, most attacks have not been close to his seat of power.
The fact that Israel undertook such a risky and audacious attack in Damascus this time does not necessarily commit it to such actions in the future, though it does show that Jerusalem is ready to pull the trigger even in Syria’s capital if there is a future threat developing.
The Post was unable to clarify whether or not Sharaa knew about the activities of the Islamic Jihad terrorists who were targeted, but in the past, the Israeli position has been that authorities are responsible for terror in their area of control whether they know of all threats or not.