A missile launched from Syria was fired into southern Israel early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country’s top-secret nuclear reactor,and it attacked the missile launcher and air-defense systems in neighboring Syria.
The incident, marking the most serious violence between Israel and Syria in years, pointed to likely Iranian involvement. Iran, which maintains troops and proxies in Syria, has accused Israel of a series of attacks on its nuclear facilities, including sabotage at its Natanz nuclear facility, and vowed revenge. It also threatened to complicate U.S led attempts to revive the international nuclear deal with Iran.
The Israeli army had deployed a missile-defense system but could not confirm if the incoming missile was intercepted, though there had been no damage. The air raid sirens were sounded in Abu Krinat, a village just a few kilometers (miles) from Dimona, the Negev desert town where Israel’s nuclear reactor is located. Explosions heard across Israel might have been the air-defense systems.
The Israeli military initially described the weapon fired as a surface-to-air missile, which is usually used for air defense against warplanes or other missiles and could suggest the Syrian missile had targeted Israeli warplanes but missed and flown off errantly. However, Dimona is some 185 miles south of Damascus, a long range for an errantly fired surface-to-air missile.
Syria’s state-run SANA news agency conveyed four soldiers had been wounded in an Israeli strike near Damascus, which also caused some damage. The Dimona reactor is widely believed to be the centerpiece of an undeclared nuclear weapons program. Israel neither confirms nor denies having a nuclear arsenal.
Israel and Iran are arch-enemies. Israel accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons and has opposed U.S led efforts to revive the international nuclear deal with Iran. With Israel’s encouragement, then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.
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