The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed this Thursday that dozens of his troops they flew to Syria September 8 past to dismantle an underground missile factory financed by the Iranian regime.
The Israeli military, which rarely comments on its activities inside Syria, said in a statement that the raid involved more than 100 soldiers of Israeli commandos who destroyed the installation in the Masyaf area, near the Mediterranean coast.
The IDF explained that the Masyaf underground complex “included “advanced assembly lines designed to manufacture precision-guided missiles and long-range rockets” for the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah “and other Iranian terrorist proxies in the region.”
The troops arrived in helicopters, “with fire and intelligence support from airplanes, fighter jets and warships,” they stated.
Footage of the raid, also released by the IDF on Thursday, showed soldiers boarding helicopters at a base and later landing at the target inside Syria. Troops can be seen entering the compound while gunshots ring out in the background. Grainy footage later shows soldiers returning to their base.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters in an online briefing that “This precision guided missile factory was dug into the side of a mountain underground in the Masyaf area”. And he added: “In fact, most of the components came from Iran for precision guided missiles and surface-to-surface missiles.
The facility had the capacity to manufacture hundreds of missiles per yearShoshani said.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), The facilities were created and supervised by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Tehran then condemned the raid as a “criminal attack.”
For his part, the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared this Thursday that the raid underscores the Israel’s determination to carry out operations anywhere to defend itself.
“This is one of the most important contractions we have taken against the Iranian axis’s attempts to arm itself to harm us, and demonstrates our determination and boldness to act anywhere to protect ourselves,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi, who oversaw the operation, added that the operation was part of “a series of brave missions” throughout the Middle East “with the aim of destroy the missile manufacturing capabilities of the Iranian axis.”
“For years, Iran formed a rocket and missile launch ring around Israel’s borders, and we have attacked both the ring and its head”Halevi said, highlighting other incursions into the Gaza Strip, into Hezbollah’s stronghold south of Beirut and into Iranian territory “in recent months.”
The military statement states that Critical machinery and documents found in the factory were taken to Israel for further investigation. “The soldiers destroyed the compound and returned safely to Israeli territory.”
Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the OSDH, told the agency AFP after the raid that had been preceded by intense air attacks, which They destroyed another “scientific research center” in Masyaf used for weapons development and where Iranian experts worked.
Syria – until last month under the dictatorship of Iran-backed Bashar al Assad – has tried to stay out of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which began with the October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli soil and has attracted groups aligned with Tehran in the region.
Since Islamist rebels overthrew Assad on December 8, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Syrian military facilities to prevent them from falling into hostile hands.
“Israel is closely monitoring the situation in Syria and will not jeopardize its own security. “We will not allow another October 7 on any front.”declared this Thursday the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar.
(With information from AFP)
