Rocket alarms have sounded in the Golan Heights, the Home Front Command announced Tuesday afternoon, with the army confirming that two rockets were fired at Israel. IDF spokesman Peter Lerner said in a text message the Syrian fire was intentional, not spillover from the Syrian civil war as has sometimes been the case in the past, reports AFP. The alarms sounded in Majdal Shams, Odem, Krum, Kafr Bukaata, Massadeh, Neve Ativ, Nimrod and Ein Kenya. After initial reports suggesting no rockets actually struck Israel, a military source clarified to Channel 2 that two rockets did hit Israeli soil - one in the Hermon region, one in El Rom. Two additional rockets were fired from Syria as well, but struck Syrian soil, according to Walla! News. IDF forces have returned fire. The IDF Spokespersons Office confirmed at 2 p.m. that it had successfully struck the source of the rocket fire. Around 3 p.m. the IDF announced to residents of the Golan Heights that every had returned to routine, although agricultural workers are still not allowed to enter territories east of Highway 98 from Ayin Zivan junction northward. Tensions soar The rocket fire follows reports aired less than 24 hours ago that the IDF has been building trenches along the Syrian border ahead of possible escalation with any number of rebel groups and outposts which pose a threat against Israel. Northern residents and the IDF have been on high alert throughout the week, after an IAF airstrike in the Syrian Golan Heights killed a senior Hezbollah commander and an Iranian Revolutionary Guards general last Sunday, along with several other Hezbollah and Iranian fighters. Hezbollah responded by vowing an attack on Israel, but made clear it does not want another full-scale war. But the IDF has nonetheless remained on high alert, and covertly moved Iron Dome batteries close to its northern borders shortly after the airstrike. Ahead of possible retaliatory strikes, the IDF also closed several roads in the north last week, including the old road between the towns of Avivim and Dovev, the road between the moshav Zarit and the Lebanese border. Hours earlier, a convoy of civilian vehicles with Hezbollah flags fired shots in the air close to the border with Israel, raising concerns further.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:56:53 +0000
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