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US officials have confirmed that the Israeli military carried out a rare raid in Syria earlier this week that killed at least 16 people and destroyed a suspected Iranian missile facility. Analysts say that the target of the operation was a factory designed to supply Hezbollah missiles.
The operation and its goals
The operation took place in the Masyaf area, in the Syrian province of Hama. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the raid was unique in its scope and results. According to information provided by The New York Times, Israeli special forces not only attacked from the air, but also landed from helicopters to collect materials from a facility where missiles were likely to be developed or assembled.
Axios notes that the Shaldag special purpose unit took part in the operation. The publication in the WSJ emphasizes that Israel warned the US of its plans, but did not disclose the details of the operation.
Expert reaction and international response
Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy described the attack as spectacular and unusual, stressing that it demonstrates the ongoing tensions in the region. Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute noted that the target of the attack was a factory located in the mountains and guarded by the forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The attack was carried out in three phases: the destruction of Syrian positions, an attack on a building with underground tunnels and the landing of special forces to complete the ground phase.
Iran condemned the strikes, saying there were no Iranian military personnel at the facility. The Pentagon declined to comment, referring questions to Israel, which also had no comment. Iran also denied the information about the capture of the Iranian military, which was previously spread by the Syrian media.
We will remind that on September 12, the first information about the Israeli operation in Syria appeared. The opposition information network “Syria-TV”, based in Turkey, reported on the landing of an Israeli landing force on Syrian territory. On the night of September 9, Syrian media reported attacks on 15 objects in the Damascus, Homs, and Tarus areas, as a result of which 14 to 16 people were killed and about 40 were wounded.
Ynet military columnist Ron Ben-Ishai noted that the main strike was on the Syrian military-industrial facility CERS (Center for Scientific Research), which is part of Syria’s high-tech military industry.
