Israeli Strike in Syria Allegedly Targeted 'Game Changing' Iranian Air Defenses, Report Claims

Early Saturday, Syria accused Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of carrying out an "air aggression" on the country's shoreline south of Tartus, which caused injuries among two civilians.

Israeli media said that an airstrike on Saturday in Syria targeted Iranian efforts to export "game-changing" air defense weapons to Syria, the Times of Israel reported.

The morning strike, which was reportedly carried out near the port city of Tartus in the Syrian village of al-Hamidiyah, "implies that it [targeted] a weapon transported by sea, possibly using Iranian ships that docked at the port last week," according to Israeli Channel 12 news.

According to the report, the strike coincided with a new Iranian initiative in Syria "to bring in air defense system to protect their military interests."

Meanwhile, Syrian state television reported the airstrike destroyed "poultry farms" and injured two civilians.

The IDF, in turn, reportedly stressed that Syria has modernized its air defense with components built in Iran. The goal of this "new effort," according to Israeli media, is to allow Tehran to control its own air defense systems in Syria. It is reportedly being managed by a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in collaboration with the Syrian army.

Prior to that, Israel allegedly struck a soon-to-be-deployed Iranian sophisticated air defense system in a strike in 2018.

Over the years, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in Syria, but it rarely admits or discusses these actions. It claims to target the bases of Iran and its allies' militias, such as the Hezbollah group from Lebanon, which allegedly has fighters stationed in Syria, as well as shipments of weapons thought to be headed for various proxies.

Usually, Israel states that the strikes are essential to stop Iran, a rival nation in the area, from establishing itself at its borders.

Also on Saturday, the IDF claimed in a statement that it shot down three drones launched by Hezbollah at the Karish gas field in Eastern Mediterranean, which Israel claims is a part of its UN-recognized exclusive economic zone. The gas field's eastern portion is claimed by Lebanon.