Global Rumblings: UPDATE: Israel Air Force bombs Syrian chemical and other targets from Lebanon, Golan

Saturday, May 04, 2013

UPDATE: Israel Air Force bombs Syrian chemical and other targets from Lebanon, Golan

American sources reported Israeli air strikes Saturday, May 4, against a number of targets in Syria including a chemical weapons depot outside Damascus. They were carried out remotely from Lebanese air space and the Golan starting Friday and continuing up until early Saturday, May 3.

Neither Damascus nor Jerusalem has yet confirmed the attacks in which according to US sources 16 IAF warplanes took part. According to one report, Israeli jets were seen early Saturday circling over Assad's presidential compound in Damascus before moving on to target a weapons site. The Israeli jets reportedly received fire but returned to base unscathed.

Some sources say the target attacked was a convoy transporting chemical arms to the Lebanese Hizballah, which Israeli leaders have vowed to prevent.

DEBKAfile’s military sources say the start of the Israeli air force operation can be fixed by the sirens set off over the Golan Friday afternoon and again before dawn Saturday. The IDF spokesman said they were set off by a “technical glitch.” They now prove to have been triggered automatically by the Israeli aerial movements.

Friday, Lebanon reported a number of Israeli warplane intrusions of its air space.

....

Sirens blared over parts of the Golan Friday, May 3, their sensors touched off by the preparations for these military movements. The official pretext offered of a “technical glitch” was about as convincing as the Israeli military spokesman’s attempt to deny knowing who sent a drone from Beirut towards Israel on April 25.
The sirens on the Golan were apparently not loud enough to be heard in Washington and Jerusalem.