Middle East

Israel says will intensify response to Syrian fire

 Five projectiles from Syria set off air raid sirens in Israeli towns on Saturday, prompting the Israeli military to say it would step up its response to stray fire from the civil war that has repeatedly spilled over the border.

The projectiles crossed into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and the military said in response it targeted three Syrian artillery guns.

No damage or injuries were reported in Israel.

The Syrian military said the attack on one of its posts caused “material damages”.

Israel has largely stayed on the sidelines of the Syrian war, keeping watch over the Golan Heights frontier and carrying out targeted air strikes or returning fire on a specific threat.

But the military’s statement suggested it may start escalating its retaliations.

“Whether errant fire or not, any future occurrences will force the Israel Defense Forces to intensify its response,” it said.

Israel “holds the Syrian regime responsible and won’t tolerate any attempt to breach Israeli sovereignty or threaten Israeli civilians’ safety,” it added.

In its own statement, the Syrian military said it warned against “such aggressive acts and holds Israel fully responsible for the consequent results”.

Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Middle East War.

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