BICOM

A mortar shell fired from Syria landed in Israel yesterday, drawing a retaliatory strike by Israel’s Air Force.

The shell is reported to have landed in an open area of the central Golan Heights and did not cause any injuries or damage. Although the mortar is thought to have been the result of errant fire from the ongoing Syrian civil war, Israel responded by targeting a Syrian army position.

An Israeli army statement said: “The IDF holds the Syrian regime responsible for any action originating from within its borders, and will not tolerate any attempt to undermine Israel’s sovereignty or the security of it citizens.”

During the past several years, there have been a number of similar incidents, where fighting in Syria has spilled over into Israel. Israel has invariably responded by hitting Syrian army posts. Much of the fighting near Israel’s border has been between President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and Islamist groups including the Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra), which is sympathetic to al-Qaeda.

While Israel has remained largely on the sidelines during the five-year Syrian conflict, in cases where Iranian-backed Hezbollah has attempted to launch terror attacks across the Israeli border or transfer advanced weapons to Lebanon, Israel’s air force has been deployed and carried out strikes.

Since the Syrian civil war erupted, Israel has treated thousands of wounded Syrians who have arrived at the country’s border, setting up an IDF field hospital in the area. Those who are seriously injured are transported to Israeli hospitals for treatment.

It was also reported last week that Israel is facilitating hundreds of packages of humanitarian aid to Syria on a daily basis. The effort is overseen by a humanitarian NGO run by an Israeli-American businessman, but the packages are delivered to Syria in coordination with the IDF.