Israel fires missiles into Damascus on Christmas, Syria responds

[A Voice from the Mountains]

This is an ongoing situation and may lead to a larger conflict. In recent weeks, Russia has just given Syria the green light to respond to Israeli strikes by launching missiles at targets in Israel for the first time, including airports or other military installations.

Hopefully they will keep this conflict contained, and the US continues its withdrawal from Syria unimpeded. Let Israel fight a war itself for a change.



Israel Attacks Damascus on Christmas, SAA Air Defenses Intercept ‘Hostile Targets’ Over Capital

Reports are still preliminary, but it does appear that Israel is once again in violation of international law, as it violates both Lebanese airspace and Syria’s sovereignty by launching another belligerent attack against Syria’s capital city of Damascus.

According to multiple reports including Syrian state media SANA, the Syrian Arab Army’s ground-to-air missile defense systems around Damascus were deployed against incoming targets.

Thus far, reports of any casualties in Syria are still unknown.

According to Israeli military sources, Israeli air defenses were then “activated” against anti-aircraft missiles coming from Syria to target Israeli jets. Israel claims no damage was done, nor any injuries to IDF personnel.

https://21stcenturywire.com/2018/12/25/israel-attacks-damascus-on-christmas-saa-air-defenses-intercept-hostile-targets-over-capital/

So it seems Syria is already responding by firing missiles of their own back at Israel.

https://media.8ch.net/file_store/fde4dbb2773f25b8ab35ed652472660f81e7e9ea3d9016335a61c5bcd657a6e2.jpg

https://media.8ch.net/file_store/0f7918a63fcab955180af606c46eb13846c19c03617fe683da1bf652d762fb62.jpg

Some videos have been posted to Twitter of incoming missiles, and Syria's air defenses going into action:

https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/1077665102038355968

https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1077692951067799553


Haaretz, Israel state media, has been flipping out over Trump's decision to withdraw troops from Syria:


This is what happens to a country and a prime minister who have wagered all their chips on empty gestures, such as the embassy move, at the expense of the far greater and more immediate threat on its northern border. This is what happens when one relies on evangelicals - who couldn’t care less about Syria, at best, or are praying for it to spark the war of Gog and Magog, at worst - as its sole advocate in Washington. This is what awaits an Israeli leader who gets bogged down in the thick molasses of flattery and kowtowing to a U.S. President, to the extent that he effectively loses any ability to challenge him or to enlist Congress and public opinion against his decisions. This is the destiny of a prime minister who is terrified that any direct public rebuke could make Trump blow his top and endanger the beautiful friendship he worked so hard to build.
...
The imminent U.S. withdrawal has symbolic and not only military portent. Solve your own problems, the White House is telling the Middle East. You will soon be alone, against the Kremlin, the Ayatollahs in Tehran and Assad’s murderous regime, it is signaling Israel. We are no longer engaged. We’ve spent too much money on your fruitless wars already. After all, we are for America First, not America and Israel first, in case you misheard.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-despite-blow-to-its-national-security-israel-will-bow-to-trump-s-syria-withdrawal-1.6763699

[MinImLi]

This so-called international law violation is actually a RESPONSE to missiles fired FROM INSIDE Syrian borders ... don't just headline the Israeli response, headline the initial attack from Syria.!.!.!.

[Dennis Leahy]

This so-called international law violation is actually a RESPONSE to missiles fired FROM INSIDE Syrian borders ... don't just headline the Israeli response, headline the initial attack from Syria.!.!.!.That's a provocative - and apparently israeli-centric - statement.

Can you please provide a source for the accusation that Syria attacked israel, a source that is not israeli or israeli-controlled?

[chancy]

Hello Everyone:

Here is another report from Reuters. I have no problem believing Reuters. I hope no one else does either. It's too bad that no news of this attack was on the main stream news here in Canada. I am not surprised since news like this never is!

Israel may have bitten off a little more than they expected this time. I know when they go after the Palistinians there is no fighting back unlike with now Syria.
chancy

If you want to see the article then here is the link:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria/syria-state-media-says-israeli-planes-attack-targets-near-damascus-idUSKCN1OO0SW


Article:
Syria state media says Israeli planes attack targets near Damascus
[Reuters]
ReutersDecember 25, 2018
Smoke rises past a mountain as seen from Damascus countrysideSmoke rises past a mountain as seen from Damascus countryside
Smoke rises past a mountain as seen from Damascus countryside, Syria December 25, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israeli war planes attacked with missiles unspecified targets near Damascus, the Syrian capital, on Tuesday and injured three Syrian soldiers, Syrian state media quoted a military source as saying.

"Our air defenses confronted hostile missiles launched by Israeli war planes from above the Lebanese territories and downed most of them before reaching their targets," the military source said.

An arms depot was hit and three soldiers were injured due to the attack, the source added.

The nature of the Israeli missiles targets was unclear.

Syrian state media reported earlier in the evening downing several "hostile targets" near Damascus.

An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on the reports.

"An IDF aerial defense system activated in response to an anti-aircraft missile launched from Syria," the official Israeli army Twitter account later said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said Israeli missiles were launched from above the Lebanese territories and targeted western and southwestern Damascus rural areas.

"A number of missiles hit arms depots for Hezbollah or Iranian forces," the observatory said. No casualties or losses were reported.

Lebanese state-run National News Agency said Israeli war planes performed mock raids above southern Lebanon.

During the more than seven-year conflict in neighboring Syria, Israel has grown deeply alarmed by the expanding clout of its arch enemy Iran - a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Israel’s air force has struck scores of targets it describes as Iranian deployments or arms transfers to Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in the war.

(Reporting by Hesham Hajali in Cairo, Kinda Makieh in Damascus and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Writing by Dahlia Nehme; Editing by Edmund Blair and Leslie Adler)

[ThePythonicCow]

Here are some more reports (no Canadian or American main stream media, however):

Senior Hezbollah leaders injured in Israeli airstrike in Syria's Damascus (Jerusalem Post) (https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Report-Syrian-Air-Defenses-intercept-missiles-near-Damascus-575428)
Israel fires at missile from Syria; IDF jets said to pound Damascus arms depots (Times of Israel) (https://www.timesofisrael.com/syria-says-air-defenses-deployed-against-enemy-targets-near-damascus/)
Israel engages air defenses to intercept anti-aircraft missile from Syria – IDF (RT) (https://www.rt.com/news/447395-israel-air-defense-syria/)
Missiles in the air ! Israel Attacking Syria -- Syrians RETURNING FIRE (Hal Turner) (http://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news/world-news/3628-missiles-in-the-air)
Israel Attacks Damascus on Christmas, SAA Air Defenses Intercept ‘Hostile Targets’ Over Capital (21st Century Wire) (https://21stcenturywire.com/2018/12/25/israel-attacks-damascus-on-christmas-saa-air-defenses-intercept-hostile-targets-over-capital/)
Israeli warplanes bomb Syrian military site in west Damascus (video) (Al-Masdar News) (https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/israeli-warplanes-bomb-syrian-military-site-in-west-damascus-video/)
Syrian Air Defences Intercept Missiles Near Damascus - Reports (Sputnik News) (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201812251070998372-syria-defence-intercept-missiles-near-damascus/)
Missiles strike in Damascus after monthlong pause (The Hill) (https://thehill.com/policy/international/422840-missiles-strike-in-damascus-after-month-long-pause)


Some of the chatter I read on 8 Chan Q Research (https://8ch.net/qresearch) (sorry - can't find a link to the actual posts now) speculated that Israel asked Trump to remove American troops from Syria, so that those troops wouldn't get caught in the cross fire of Israel attacks on Syria, and that Mattis resigned, in part, in protest of Trump's decision to withdraw American troops and open the door for more aggressive Israeli action.

[A Voice from the Mountains]

In this world of deception, it’s hard to know what is true or not without first hand information.

That's true, but this also fits a longstanding pattern of Israel being the aggressor toward Syria and even semi-openly supporting ISIS terrorists, who have never seemed to have any interest in attacking Israel "for some reason."

Here is a report from the Jerusalem Post in 2015 about Israel giving medical treatment to wounded al-Qaeda terrorists evacuated from Syria:


Report: Israel treating al-Qaida fighters wounded in Syria civil war

Israel has opened its borders with Syria in order to provide medical treatment to Nusra Front and al-Qaida fighters wounded in the ongoing civil war, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The prominent American newspaper reported that Nusra Front, the Sunni Muslim al-Qaida offshoot which is currently fighting the Iranian-backed axis of Bashar Assad and Hezbollah, "hasn't bothered Israel since seizing the border area last summer" along the Golan Heights.

While Israel views al-Qaida and its allies as enemies, it is far more disturbed by what it views as an even bigger menace – Iran and its proxies. According to The Wall Street Journal, this attitude has caused tension with the United States, which has also targeted al-Qaida and Nusra Front fighters in Syria.

https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Report-Israel-treating-al-Qaida-fighters-wounded-in-Syria-civil-war-393862

I was first alerted to this by an Israeli buddy of mine who has since moved to Japan. Israel wasn't even really trying to hide what they were doing, they are so brazen about all of this. They are essentially supporting the murder of American soldiers, among others, just as they deliberately attacked the USS Liberty and killed many American servicemen without consequence during the LBJ administration.

They have behaved as though they are untouchable for many years because of their unconditional backing from the United States, but all of a sudden that's changing very rapidly, though the Israelis don't seem to have gotten the message yet.

[shaberon]

They were clearly warned there would be greater response about two weeks ago. From what I understand about Gaza, hostilities ceased after 460 missiles killed seven and wounded over a dozen settlers. Other forces around them can repeat this process with better munitions indefinitely, many times a day. Part of this is likely an attempt to get Syria to fire its newest defenses in an attempt to learn how to block them. Israel said it would wait for Americans to retreat from Turkey before going at it again, so, here we go.

According to RT (https://www.rt.com/news/447423-israel-strike-syria-civilian-planes/), civilian aircraft were somewhat being used as cover, which watered down the defenses to prevent hitting them, and 2/16 Israeli bombs made it to target. Nothing is really said of a strike back there. If true they used the laser-guided version, that is meant to hit a moving target (truck, tank, etc.), not bunkers and depots, so versus using a $40,000 GPS version, they apparently used a $100k+ laser version in a way it's not designed for.

[Justplain]

I also would speculate that this attack is a precursor to military escalation prior to the coming spring Israeli election. Netanyahu is a new world order flunky (apparently he coined the term 'war on terror', so infamously used by another flunky, bush Jr) , who apparently will face multiple corruption charges if he loses the next election. So he needs a distraction that will hype the 'defense is needed' card and 'Israel needs a strong leader' card. This is the same old fear mongering, violent, psychopathic action that the world has grown tired of.

[A Voice from the Mountains]

According to RT (https://www.rt.com/news/447423-israel-strike-syria-civilian-planes/), civilian aircraft were somewhat being used as cover, which watered down the defenses to prevent hitting them, and 2/16 Israeli bombs made it to target.

The Israelis previously used a Russian plane as cover, which is how the Syrians shot the Russian plane down and killed many highly-trained Russian specialists.

So now they're using civilian planes as human shields, huh? And yet Netanyahu is on Twitter bragging about how Israel is such a "moral" military force that doesn't target women and children. Just like they never target women or children in Palestine, either. :facepalm:

As usual, what they say is about 180 degrees opposite of the truth.


This is the same old fear mongering, violent, psychopathic action that the world has grown tired of.

The question will be whether or not the Israelis themselves are tired of it. But I'm skeptical that any elected leader of Israel will want to make peace with Syria. I get the feeling that many Israelis feel entitled to expand their borders endlessly in the name of self-defense.

[ThePythonicCow]

Some of the chatter I read on 8 Chan Q Research (https://8ch.net/qresearch) (sorry - can't find a link to the actual posts now) speculated that Israel asked Trump to remove American troops from Syria, so that those troops wouldn't get caught in the cross fire of Israel attacks on Syria, and that Mattis resigned, in part, in protest of Trump's decision to withdraw American troops and open the door for more aggressive Israeli action.

I tracked down where this came from. It was on these tweets on the twitter account @JakeTurx (https://twitter.com/JakeTurx):

https://twitter.com/JakeTurx/status/1077707913576235008

EXCLUSIVE: In my @WhiteHouse column in the latest issue of @Ami_Magazine I have the scoop on the US withdrawal from Syria, which sources confirm to me came [mostly] at the request of Israel... Some big moves about to go down... #Hezbollah #Iran

3:29 PM - 25 Dec 2018
https://twitter.com/JakeTurx/status/1077710676209160193

Okay. Basically, it's like this: Israel has been planning a winter offensive against Hezbollah, and there was concern that the US might get caught up in the middle. Mattis was strongly opposed to Israel's plan and we all know how that went down...

3:40 PM - 25 Dec 2018
https://twitter.com/JakeTurx/status/1077722254602092544

Worth noting that while the White House declined to comment when I reached out to them, they didn't deny it either.

Caveat: It's possible that Israel isn't the single factor behind the US withdrawal. (Though, until time tells feel free to draw your own conclusions).

4:26 PM - 25 Dec 2018
https://twitter.com/JakeTurx/status/1077870251671470080

Clarifications:
There's no reason to assume that Israel was the only influence behind the US decision.
There's no reason to assume that Trump wasn't looking for a way out regardless.
There's no reason to assume that the Mattis resignation was exclusively over this.

2:14 AM - 26 Dec 2018

So far as I've noticed, this Jake Turx has a good reputation and good Washington contacts, regarding such matters.

[shaberon]

I also would speculate that this attack is a precursor to military escalation prior to the coming spring Israeli election.

The common denominator I have noticed in all these bombardments is...they don't matter. Occasionally they hit something, but in the overall scene of what happened that day in Syria, it's like nothing. There is no effect. There might be, internally, to Israel, in building their "Iranian aggression" narrative, that's about all. Their commanders know their units are unfit for any real action, and it's very likely they can't afford their own civilian casualties.

All I saw this time was the Russian account of using those things that are "glider bombs", not sure about missiles. Since these were launched from Lebanon, it is more that the bombs were using passenger planes for cover. Aside from one anti-aircraft missile following someone home, not intercepted by David's Sling, I am not sure of retaliation. Hezbollah has not confirmed any losses. They say it is for electoral purposes. The U. N. complaint will be filed along the lines of terrorism, since this was a public holiday involving large crowds.

So that cost at least $2 million to scruff up an arms depot and wound three soldiers. I don't know if the PM is untouchable while in office? The corruption stuff seems to be pretty serious with some folk there. At least some of the population must know how stupid politics are. And, yeah...they might be invincible in those contorted nightmares, but in the opinion of everyone around them, Israeli military + major incursion is a non-starter. Won't happen because it can't. Back when the F-16 was a shiny new car, you could say this American military machine was superior; the reality now is that the stuff is twisted wreckage waiting to happen. 1/8 successful strikes seems to be a typical performance, on a good day with no one bothering them.

[A Voice from the Mountains]

The common denominator I have noticed in all these bombardments is...they don't matter. Occasionally they hit something, but in the overall scene of what happened that day in Syria, it's like nothing. There is no effect.

I get what you mean, but at the same time, they feed us constant lies about what is actually going on. So it's difficult to say what is actually happening.

One example: when the US launched its last missile strike, it really doesn't seem to have done anything, as you say.

BUT... what wasn't widely reported, is that Russia and Syria both launched massive offensives simultaneous with the US airstrikes which devastated ISIS. So there is a lot of distraction and sleight-of-hand, and as usual, the media is complicit in distorting what we are seeing and hearing.