Syria says Israel strikes strategic hilltop

DAMASCUS (Reuters): Israel carried out a missile attack on a strategic hill in Syria overlooking a frontier zone between the countries early on Wednesday, the Syrian state news agency SANA said.

It said damage was caused to Tal al-Hara, in the Daraa governorate near the occupied Golan Heights, and that Syrian air defences shot down several missiles. Israel used “electronic warfare” to disrupt radars during the attack, SANA added.

Israeli officials declined to comment on the incident. They have acknowledged past strikes in Syria targeting what they said were deployments or arms transfers by Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces helping Damascus beat back rebels.

Israeli media said Hezbollah was suspected of having positioned surveillance equipment on Tal al-Hara.

“We are denying the enemy capabilities in advance,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Wednesday, in an apparent allusion to such operations in Syria. “In a methodical and consistent manner, we are acting to prevent our enemies from setting up bases close to us, for attacks upon us.”