SYRIA’S air defences have thwarted an Israeli missile attack on a military airbase in the country’s central province of Homs, shooting most of the missiles down.
The Syrian official news agency SANA reported that Israel attacked the T-4 airbase, which is in the desert, on Friday evening.
‘At around 9.33pm this evening, the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the al-Tanf area, with rockets launched toward the T-4 military airport in the central province,’ it said.
An unnamed military source was quoted as saying: ‘Syria’s air defence confronted the aggressors’ missiles and shot down most of them,’ adding that ‘six Syrian soldiers were wounded and there were some ‘material losses’.
Early last month, Syria’s air defences managed to destroy 21 out of 24 guided missiles fired by four Israeli Air Force F-15 tactical fighters at targets in Syria from Lebanese airspace, the Russian military in Syria reported at the time.
Israel often violates Lebanese airspace to launch attacks against neighbouring Syria.
Back in August, Lebanon lodged a complaint with the United Nations after Israeli warplanes again violated its airspace to carry out separate airstrikes against positions near the Syrian capital city of Damascus and the western city of Homs.
The Russian military said the Syrian air defence units destroyed 21 of the 24 Israeli missiles targeting Damascus with Russian-made Buk-M2E and Pantsir-S1 systems.
Israel frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of the resistance movement Hezbollah which has played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists.
Israel’s repeated aggressions are viewed by observers as an attempt to weaken the Damascus government as it increasingly gains the upper hand in its fight against terrorist groups.
Israel has been a main supporter of terrorist groups that have opposed the government of President Bashar al-Assad ever since foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria almost a decade ago.
Syrian government forces have taken back many areas once controlled by terrorist groups. The government and allied forces are currently busy fighting the last bastions of the militants in the northwestern province of Idlib and areas in the neighbouring Aleppo province.
- Marking the 48th anniversary of the October War, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has lauded Syria’s resistance that has exposed Israel’s weakness.
In a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Berri marked the 1973 war, – known as the October War to the Arabs and as the Yom Kippur War to the Israelis – expressing confidence that ‘the men who made (victory in) October of Liberation are able today to make … (a permanent victory) in the face of terrorism and siege … that keeps Syria strong and impregnable and a focal point for Arab identity,’ Lebanon’s al-Ahed news website reported on Wednesday.
Berri said that October 6th, 1973 marks the sacrifices of valiant Syrian army officers and soldiers.
‘Syria has proven the powerlessness of the Zionist regime in the face of the Arabs’ right to resist and to liberate their lands, as Syria had … an unyielding determination and an unbreakable will to restore the entire territory of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.’
In 1967, the Israeli regime waged a full-scale war against Arab territories, including those of Syria.
The 1973 war – known as the Arab-Israeli or the Yom Kippur War – broke out between the Israeli regime and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria and resulted in the Israeli occupation of what remained of historic Palestine, as well as the Egyptian Sinai desert, and a large swathe of the Golan Heights of Syria.
A year later, a United Nations-brokered ceasefire came into force, according to which the Israeli regime and the Syrian government agreed to separate their troops, and create a buffer zone patrolled by the UN Disengagement and Observer Force (UNDOF).
In late 1981, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law that extended the regime’s ‘laws, jurisdiction and administration’ to the Golan Heights, effectively annexing the territory to Israel.
However, a few days after the law’s passage in Israel’s parliament, UN Security Council Resolution 497 determined the law as ‘null and void and without international legal effect.’
It also demanded that Israel, the as occupying power, ‘should rescind forthwith its decision’.
The international community recognises the Golan Heights to be official Syrian territory and widely rejects Israeli military occupation.
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has met with Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who thanked Iran for helping Lebanon weather its economic crisis, saying the Islamic Republic has proven to be a ‘sincere ally’ in difficult times.
‘Iran has proven that it is a sincere ally and a loyal friend that does not let its allies down no matter how difficult the situation,’ Nasrallah said.
Amir-Abdollahian also reaffirmed Iran’s support for Lebanon, adding that Tehran stands with Beirut on every level.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed several issues, including the latest political developments in Lebanon and the region.
Lebanon has been mired in a deep economic and financial crisis since late 2019. The crisis is the gravest threat to the country’s stability since the 15-year civil war ended in 1990.
The economic and financial crisis is mostly linked to the sanctions that the United States and its allies have imposed on Lebanon as well as foreign meddling in its domestic affairs.
In August, while Lebanon was suffering from crippling fuel shortages, Nasrallah announced the import of Iranian fuel.
A third tanker carrying Iranian fuel has already reached Syria to be transferred to neighbouring Lebanon.
Iran has also expressed readiness to sell fuel directly to the Lebanese government.
The Iranian Foreign Minister added that Tehran will continue to strongly support the Lebanese army, people and resistance movement.
