Israeli air strikes kill 23 in Syria

Israel said its warplanes carried out a “very intense” attack against Iranian forces and Syrian army targets in Syria Wednesday, in raids a monitoring group reported killed at least 23 people. In a rare confirmation of their operations in Syria, the Israeli army said they had carried out dozens of strikes against the Iranian elite Quds Force and the Syrian military, in response to four rockets fired at Israel a day before.

Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 23 people were killed in the strikes -- 21 fighters and two civilians. Sixteen were non-Syrian fighters, the group’s head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Iran has fought alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the country’s eight-year civil war, heightening Israeli concern over the presence of its arch foe along its border. “Whoever hurts us, we will hurt him,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

“This is what we did overnight vis-a-vis military targets of the Iranian Quds Force and Syrian military targets in Syria after a barrage of rockets was launched at Israel.”

The Israeli army said they had targeted about a dozen military sites, including warehouses and military command centres.

Israeli air strikes kill 23 in Syria

Israel said its warplanes carried out a very intense attack against Iranian forces and Syrian army targets in Syria Wednesday, in raids a monitoring group reported killed at least 23 people. In a rare confirmation of their operations in Syria, the Israeli army said they had carried out dozens of strikes against the Iranian elite Quds Force and the Syrian military, in response to four rockets fired at Israel a day before. Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 23 people were killed in the strikes -- 21 fighters and two civilians. Sixteen were non-Syrian fighters, the groups head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Iran has fought alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assads forces in the countrys eight-year civil war, heightening Israeli concern over the presence of its arch foe along its border. Whoever hurts us, we will hurt him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. This is what we did overnight vis-a-vis military targets of the Iranian Quds Force and Syrian military targets in Syria after a barrage of rockets was launched at Israel. The Israeli army said they had targeted about a dozen military sites, including warehouses and military command centres.