Early on March 5, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a series of airstrikes on the central Syrian governorate of Homs.
According to the Ministry of Defense of Syria, Israels warplanes launched several missiles from Lebanese airspace on targets in Homs. The Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces (SyAADF) reportedly intercepted all the missiles.
“At 00:30 on Thursday, 5-3-2020, our air-defense means detected the movement of Israeli warplane coming from the northern part of occupied Palestine towards Sidon [in southern Lebanon], several missiles were fired from Lebanese airspace towards the central region, and immediately the hostile missiles were dealt with successfully and professionally, none of them reached our targeted positions,” the Syrian MoD said in a statement.
Local sources in Homs recorded heavy air-defense fire over the governorate, while no explosions were reported on the ground. This supports the Syrian MoD’s claims.
The Israeli attack on Homs endangered two civilian flights of Qatar Airways. The airliners were flying near Homs when the attack began.
При этом израильская авиация применила уже ставшую традиционной тактику прикрытия за гражданскими авиалайнерами (в данном случае за двумя бортами авиакомпании “Qatar Airways”). pic.twitter.com/Tu70n31XYT
— SwankyStas (@StasSwanky) March 5, 2020
The Israeli military also carried out several strikes on Syrian military positions in al-Quneitra. Unlike Homs, explosions were heard in the southern governorate. The exact results of the strikes are yet to be revealed.
Good morning
Here’s our brother in arms maneuvering under real combat conditions and firing on the move from a Pantsir-S2 near Homs during yesterday’s Israeli attempt to attack the sectorA good crew and a well maintained system is essential for a good results. pic.twitter.com/X2anNthqj0
— Syrian_MC (@Syrian_MC) March 5, 2020
In the last two months, Israel stepped up its attacks on Syria. The most recent strikes, which occurred on February 23, targeted positions of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the capital, Damascus.
