This reads to me as if Israel is going to up their airstrikes in support of their Islamist terrorist/fighters aka NATO's mercs. Israel has hit Syria several times and Syria has not retaliated. Why would they now, when they haven't previously? What's your take?ChinaDaily
Israel stepped up security precautions along its northern borders for possible retaliation by Hezbollah over a Sunday airstrike that killed a number of its fighters, local media reported.
I actually don't see this as prepping for 'retaliation' for Israel's most recent strike on Syria, or any of the previous strikes. The moves to me are way more suggestive that Israel is about to make one or more strikes on Syria, Lebanon or on both nations simultaneously. Should retaliation come from either nation, Israel has troops on the ready, for possible movement on the ground?
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deployed Iron Dome anti-missile batteries at several spots in northern Israel, the Arabic Sky News network reported Monday evening. No official IDF confirmation was available at the moment.Although Israeli officials did not acknowledge the strike, the IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said on Monday afternoon that the army is prepared and monitoring the developments in the region."The IDF is prepared, tracking all developments, and ready to act as needed," Gantz said at a military event, according to the Ynet news website.Israeli media also reported changes in military deployment in the north.
According to the Ha'aretz daily, the IDF did not let several units deployed along the northern border go on leave as planned.
The IDF had also raised the level of alert in outposts along the Syrian and Lebanese borders, according to the Ynet website.
Furthermore, Channel 10 reported that farmers in the border town of Mettulah were told by the military to stay away from the border fence.
An Israeli soldier directs a tank onto a truck near the border between Israel-occupied Golan Heights and Lebanon, on Jan 19, 2015
Israel also shut down the airspace over the Golan Heights on Monday, ordering civil aircraft to stay out of the area.
The airspace above Israel's north, east of the Jordan River, was closed to all civil aircraft except for agricultural aircraft several kilometers from the Syrian border.
An Israeli official confirmed to Xinhua that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Tuesday (today) to discuss the recent developments in the area and the security arrangements up north.
Recounting the previous attack by helicopter below.
The airstrike, attributed to Israel, took place on Sunday in the Syrian Golan Heights, near the town of Quneitra. A helicopter struck a convoy of vehicles, killing six operatives of the Lebanese Shi'ite militant organization Hezbollah, including Jihad Mughniyah.
An aside- UN says drone, other reports state helicopter, why the discrepancy,?Not that it matters. Israel has proven itself time and time again to be a terror state committing acts of criminality on multiple occasions
The airstrike, attributed to Israel, took place on Sunday in the Syrian Golan Heights, near the town of Quneitra. A helicopter struck a convoy of vehicles, killing six operatives of the Lebanese Shi'ite militant organization Hezbollah, including Jihad Mughniyah.Jihad was a commander and the son of Imad Mughniya, a former commander of Hezbollah believed to have been assassinated by Israel in 2008.
According to a statement by Hezbollah, the Shi'ite militant organization, a senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, General Mohammed Ali Allhadadi, was also killed in the airstrike, along with several other Iranian soldiers.Israel refused to comment on the attack. However, Israeli media outlets quoted military sources as saying the target for the attack was terrorists plotting an attack against Israel.Throughout Monday, UN peacekeepers ran patrols along the Israeli-Lebanese border to ensure calm in the area despite rising tensions. Peacekeepers have been employed along the border following the aftermath of the 2006 war between the countries.Although not officially confirmed, it is believed Israel carried out several air strikes against Syria to stem weapons delivery to Hezbollah by Iran, and to respond to the overspill of the Syrian Civil War into the northern Israel.The latest attack took place in December near the Damascus international airport.
The latest attack was covered in yesterday's post-