Israel launches strikes in Syria after rocket attacks

JERUSALEM — Israeli jets hit Syrian military targets on Sunday in response to rockets launched toward Israeli-controlled territory overnight, Israel's military said, the latest episode of escalating violence in the region.

State media in Syria reported explosions in the vicinity of the capital Damascus as Israel said its forces continued to hit Syrian territory after six rockets were fired overnight toward the Golan Heights.

Israel said artillery and drone strikes hit the rocket launchers and were followed by airstrikes against a Syrian army compound, military radar systems and artillery posts.

The Syrian defense ministry said its air defenses had responded to the Israeli attacks and intercepted some Israeli missiles. It said no casualties had been reported with only material damage caused by the strikes.

Sirens had sounded earlier near towns in the Golan Heights as rockets were launched from Syrian territory, but no damage or casualties were reported. Israel seized the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed the 1,200-square-km territory in 1981, a move not recognized by most of the international community.

Only three of the rockets crossed into Israeli-controlled territory, with two falling on open ground and the third intercepted by air defense systems, the military said.

The surge in violence and unrest comes as the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Jewish Passover, and Christian Easter coincide.

On Wednesday, Israeli police stormed the prayer hall of Al-Aqsa Mosque in a predawn raid aimed at dislodging "lawbreaking youths masked agitators" they said had barricaded themselves inside. The next day, more than 30 rockets were fired from Lebanese soil into Israel, which the Israeli army blamed on Palestinian groups, saying it was most likely Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

On Saturday, a Palestinian was killed during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the village of Azzoun, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya, Palestinian medics and eyewitnesses said.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a news release that A'ahead Isleem, 20, was shot in the chest and abdomen by Israeli soldiers and died later on the way to the hospital. No other injuries were reported, the statement added.

The ministry said that since the beginning of this year, the Israeli army and the security forces have killed 95 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including 17 children and a woman.

Official Israeli figures said that 18 Israelis were killed in a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians.

Agencies - Xinhua