Israeli strikes used 28 planes, fired 70 missiles β Russia
Israelβs strikes on Syria saw 28 planes take part in raids with a total of around 70 missiles fired, Russiaβs defence ministry said on Thursday.
β28 Israeli F-15 and F-16 aircraft were used in the attack, which released around 60 air-to-ground missiles over various parts of Syria. Israel also fired more than 10 tactical ground-to-ground missiles,β the ministry said in a statement, quoted by Interfax news agency.
βThe locations of Iranian armed groups and also the positions of the Syrian armyβs air defences in the area around Damascus and in the south of Syria were attacked,β the ministry said.
Israel carried out the raids after it said around 20 rockets were fired from Syria at its forces in the occupied Golan Heights overnight.
It blamed the rocket fire on Iranβs Al-Quds force, adding that Israelβs anti-missile system intercepted four of the projectiles while the rest did not land in its territory.
On Thursday Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov called for βrestraint on all sidesβ, adding that Moscow was βconcernedβ at the development.
The strikes came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country has provided massive military and diplomatic backing to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syriaβs seven-year civil war.
At the meeting Putin also expressed βdeep concernβ over US President Donald Trumpβs decision to withdraw from a key 2015 Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday, a decision Netanyahu supported.
On Wednesday the Russian leader called the situation in the Middle East βunfortunately very acuteβ.
Netanyahu had told Putin that βit is the right of every state, certainly the right of Israel, to take the necessary steps in order to protect itself from (Iranian) aggression)β, his office said in a statement Wednesday, referring to Iranβs presence in Syria.
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