Syrian missiles target Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility; Tel Aviv retaliates

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military struck multiple Syrian targets after a missile targeted southern Israel near a secretive nuclear site at Dimona, the army said early Thursday.

“A surface-to-air missile was fired from Syria to Israel´s southern Negev,” the Israeli Defence Force tweeted. “In response, we struck the battery from which the missile was launched and additional surface-to-air batteries in Syria,” they added.

Syrian state media outlet Sana said the Israeli fire came from the Golan Heights and was targeted “towards positions in the vicinity of Damascus”. While there were no immediate reports of any Israeli wounded or physical damage, sirens sounded earlier near Abu Qrenat village, in the vicinity of the Dimona nuclear site. Israel has never disclosed its nuclear arsenal, but foreign experts claim the Jewish state has between 100 to 300 nuclear warheads.

Israel is investigating its response to the incoming projectile. The army said an initial probe showed it did not intercept the surface-to-air missile. Israeli troops examined fragments of an exploded missile that reached the community of Ashalim, some 40 kilometres (45 miles) from Dimona. Soldiers were still searching for more pieces of the projectile in the late morning.

Israel has long sought to prevent bitter foe Iran from establishing itself in war-torn Syria. Israel´s Iron Dome missile defence system has thwarted hundreds of attacks from Syria and the Gaza Strip in the past decade.

The missile launch comes as tensions run high between Israel and Iran, which had vowed to avenge the April 11 attack of its Natanz uranium enrichment plant. Iran accused Israel of being behind the explosion that hit Natanz´s electricity distribution. Israel did not claim responsibility for the incident, but unsourced media reports in the country attributed it to the Israeli security services carrying out a “cyber operation”. The New York Times, quoting unnamed US and Israeli intelligence officials, said there had been “an Israeli role” in the attack.

Sana said Syrian air defence batteries successfully intercepted most of the missiles. Quoting a military source, the news outlet said that four soldiers were wounded, adding there were “some material losses”. Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out raids in Syria, mostly targeting Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces as well as government troops. Israel rarely confirms strikes in Syria, but its army has said it hit about 50 targets in the war-torn country last year, without providing details.