ISRAEL has struck a dozen Syrian and Iranian targets inside Syria after an Israeli fighter jet crashed under fire from Syrian air defences, the military said.
The Israeli military said its planes struck 12 targets today including three aerial defence batteries and four Iranian targets that are part of Iran’s military establishment in Syria.
In a statement, the US State Department said it was “deeply concerned about today’s escalation of violence over Israel’s border and strongly supports Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself.”.
The confrontation was the most serious between arch foes Israel and Iran since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
Israel’s raids came after it intercepted what it said was an Iranian drone entering its airspace from Syria.
It marked the first time Israel publicly acknowledged attacking what it identified as Iranian targets in Syria since the war began.
The Israeli military issued a warning to Tehran, saying it was responsible for the drone that entered Israel, which it labelled an “attack.”