- There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage in Israel after blast
- Israel said in response to the launch it attacked several missile batteries in Syria
- Syria’s state news agency said Syrian air defences intercepted the Israeli attack
A missile launched from Syria struck southern Israel early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country’s top-secret nuclear reactor.
In response, it said it attacked the missile launcher and air-defense systems in neighbouring Syria.
The incident, marking the most serious violence between Israel and Syria in years, pointed to likely Iranian involvement.
Iran, which has troops and proxies in Syria, accused Israel of a series of attacks on its nuclear facilities, including sabotage at its Natanz nuclear facility on April 11, and vowed revenge.
The Israeli army said the missile landed in the Negev region and the air raid sirens were sounded in a village near Dimona, where Israel’s nuclear reactor is located.
There was no word on whether anything had been struck, but explosions were reported across Israel. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
But on Saturday, Iran’s hard-line Kayhan newspaper published an opinion piece by Iranian analyst Sadollah Zarei.
It suggested Israel’s Dimona facility be targeted after the attack on Natanz. Zarei cited the idea of ‘an eye for an eye’ in his remarks.
Action should be taken ‘against the nuclear facility in Dimona,’ he wrote. ‘This is because no other action is at the same level as the Natanz incident.’
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