Israel launched several airstrikes against Syria during the early hours of 9 April, targeting Syrian military sites in the vicinity of the capital Damascus and other areas south of the country, state-media reported.

Israel launches airstrikes on Syria's capital pic.twitter.com/MlkCIH0Rsa

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) April 9, 2023

“At about 05:00 AM, the Israeli enemy launched an aerial aggression with a number of missiles from the direction of occupied Syrian Golan targeting some sites in the southern region,” a military source told state-news outlet SANA.

“Our air defenses intercepted the enemy’s missiles and downed some of them,” the Syrian source added.

The Israeli army claimed to have used airstrikes and artillery to target rocket-launchers and a Syrian military compound. So far, no casualties have been reported and only some material damages ensued.

The Israeli strikes came in response to the firing of several rockets from Syrian territory into the Israeli occupied Golan Heights the night before. Late on 8 April and after midnight on 9 April, a total of six rockets were fired from Syria towards the Golan Heights, three of which landed in Israeli controlled-territory. The missiles were launched in separate barrages.

Israel strikes southern Syria in response to rocket attack on the occupied Golan pic.twitter.com/aPAuIY72Dg

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) April 9, 2023

Two others fell in an open space while the last was intercepted, the Israeli military claimed. Reports suggested that one of the missiles fell in Jordanian territory.

Israel “sees the State of Syria responsible for all activities occurring within its territory and will not allow any attempts to violate Israeli sovereignty,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

According to Al-Mayadeen, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement claimed responsibility for launching the rockets.

The rocket-attack was a rare occurrence. The last time rockets were launched from Syria into Israel was in 2019.

This new attack came just two days after dozens of rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanese territory in response to Israel’s brutality in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

No group claimed responsibility for firing the rockets from Lebanon. However, Israeli media suggested that it was a coordinated attack carried out by the Palestinians in Lebanon and green-lighted by Hezbollah.

The Hebrew media claims represented the growing fear in Israel of increased coordination between Hezbollah, Iran, the Palestinians, and the axis of resistance in general – while also reinforcing the fear that several fronts are now open against Israel.

These recent rocket attacks against Israel have coincided with an unprecedented surge in Palestinian resistance operations against settlers and soldiers inside of Palestine.