REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BEIRUT - Israeli warplanes flew over southern Lebanon Friday, two days after the Jewish state launched an airstrike near Damascus, as Syria's army chief of staff warned against testing his country's capabilities.
Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayoub made his comments Thursday during a visit to some military units in the country. The Al-Baath newspaper, the mouthpiece of President Bashar Assad's ruling party, quoted Ayoub as saying Syria will never change its stance "no matter how much the enemy carries out provocative and hostile acts."
It said low-flying Israeli jets crossed into the country over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and bombed a scientific research center. The facility is in the area of Jamraya, northwest of Damascus, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the Lebanese.
The latest overflights came after officials said Israel launched a rare airstrike Wednesday inside Syria, targeting a convoy carrying anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese group allied with Syria and Iran.
The general's comments reflected increased tensions between Syria and Israel, which up to now has refrained from actions that could be interpreted as intervention in Syria's civil war.
Israel had no comment on Lebanon's description of the air force flights over the border region. There were no reports of airstrikes. Israeli planes frequently fly over southern Lebanon, and Lebanon often files complaints with the UN over the incursions into its airspace.
According to a US official, the Israeli airstrikes Wednesday targeted trucks containing SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles. The Syrian military denied that the target of the attack was a weapons convoy.
In Israel, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor declined to comment on Israeli media reports that its embassies were instructed to be alert for threats after Syria's warnings. Syrian-allied Hezbollah has been accused of staging deadly attacks against Israelis abroad in past years.
At home, Israel positioned an additional "Iron Dome" rocket defense system in northern Israel on Thursday, security officials said, after moving another to the northern city of Haifa earlier this week. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the battery's placement with reporters. Capt. Eytan Buchman, an Israeli military spokesman, said the military's home front command has not raised its alert level.
Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika