Syrian Air Defenses Intercept Israeli Strikes on Palmyra

The Syrian air defense forces responded to Israeli raids on a military site in the vicinity of Palmyra in the eastern Homs countryside, according to official state-owned news agency SANA.

A number of missiles targeting Syrian points in Sokhna and Al-Amiriya, approximately 95 miles west to Palmyra, were downed at 11:00 pm late Monday (Damascus Local Time).

On March 31, Israeli warplanes targeted more than right missiles, Al-Shu'airat Airport in Homs, while sound was heard as a result of the Syrian air defenses attempting to counter these strikes.

Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011, the Israeli army has launched a series of raids on Syrian soil, targeting in particular Iranian targets and groups loyal to Tehran.

On January 14th, Israeli aircraft targeted the "Altifor" military airport in the center of the country.

The Syrian air defense systems were activated late Monday night against “hostile Israeli targets” over the airspace of Palmyra, SANA added.

According to Hebrew-language outlet N12, the targeted site was a T4 base in Homs, a base that was operated in the past by Iranian forces which Israel allegedly attacked a number of times in the past, according to Israeli I24 News.

Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made a trip to Syria in a direct flight from Tehran. He reportedly met for a few hours with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Anna Ahronheim, military correspondent for the Jerusalem Post newspaper, tweeted that the attack was targeting the Syrian T-4 airbase in the Homs province.T-4, also known as Althias, is about halfway between the city of Homs and Palmyra.

Ahronheim noted that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu had said earlier in the day that the threat of Iran did not disappear during the coronavirus pandemic and that Israel was “now working more carefully than ever maintaining our security competence, even if our soldiers are busy with other things.”