The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck an armed operative near Beit Jinn in southwestern Syria who was in the final stages of preparing an improvised explosive device (IED) attack against Israeli troops, the military said.
Beit Jinn is approximately 10 kilometers, or 6 miles, from the Israeli border. The IDF said the operative presented an immediate threat to Israeli forces operating in the area when the strike was carried out.
Syrian media and state television reported that the strike targeted a vehicle and wounded one person.
The operation came as Israel provided additional details about separate strikes on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur military air base. Israeli intelligence indicated Turkey was preparing to deploy troops along with radar and air defense systems at the facility, Kan News reported Saturday.
Israel also shared intelligence about the planned Turkish deployment with the United States, according to Kan.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saturday that Israel attempted to prevent the deployment before authorizing military action by issuing a direct warning to senior Syrian officials. His account was consistent with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that Syria had received a warning before the strikes.
“Following several discussions that Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] and I held with the IDF and the various security officials, it was agreed that before approval was given, a direct warning would be issued to the Syrian regime at the highest levels first in an attempt to prevent the move, and that is what was done,” Katz said.
Katz said the warning was intended to give Syrian authorities an opportunity to prevent the planned Turkish deployment before Israel authorized an attack.
