On 27 April, Syria’s foreign ministry sent a letter to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, saying that Damascus reserves the right to respond to Israeli, Turkish, and US attacks accordingly.

The letter was delivered just hours after Israel launched its latest round of missile attacks on the countryside of Damascus, killing at least four Syrian soldiers and wounding several others.

The ministry condemned the attack, referring to it as “blatant and cowardly aggression,” urging the UN security council (UNSC) to also condemn the aggression, and demand their cessation and respect for the relevant UNSC resolutions.

Israeli attacks on Syrian soil have grown in frequency following the start of the US-sponsored war on Syria in 2011.

On 15 April, the Syrian army countered similar attacks launched by Israeli forces in western Damascus.

The Israeli missiles were reportedly launched from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, making it Israel’s ninth strike against targets in Syria this year.

In response to these attacks, Russian ambassador to Syria, Alexander Efimov, said that Tel Aviv’s strikes in Syria are “provoking” Moscow to react, and that Israeli attacks on the country are intended to “escalate tensions and allow the West to carry out military activities in Syria.”

The remarks of the ambassador were Russia’s strongest condemnations yet of Israel’s illegal military activity in Syria.

In January, Syrian and Russian air forces carried out their first joint patrols along Syria’s borders, including around the occupied Golan Heights.

Experts agreed that these patrols will significantly increase the ability of the Syrian Air Force to protect its airspace, mainly from Israel.

In early March, Israel launched a missile into Damascus, which resulted in the deaths of two civilians. On 14 February, a similar Israeli attack occurred in the vicinity of Damascus, which killed three Syrian soldiers.

Tel Aviv continues to claim that its targets within Syria’s sovereign borders are associated with the presence of Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, who have helped the Syrian army in their fight against extremist armed groups.