The IDF carried out airstrikes overnight Wednesday against targets in southern Syria, in response to a rocket fired toward the Golan Heights the previous day.
"The Syrian regime is responsible for the current situation in Syria," the military said in a statement. Defense Minister Israel Katz echoed that sentiment, holding Syria’s leadership “directly responsible” for the escalation.
Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported shelling in the Yarmuk Basin area, located in the western part of Daraa province.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “violent explosions shook southern Syria,” particularly around the town of Quneitra and the wider Daraa region, in the wake of Israeli airstrikes between Tuesday night and early Wednesday.
A rocket launched from Syria landed in an open field in the Golan Heights on Tuesday. No injuries or damage were reported.
Syria’s foreign ministry denied involvement in the rocket fire, stating the country “has never been and will never be a threat to anyone in the region.” It accused unnamed parties of seeking to destabilize the region for their own purposes.
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“The absolute priority in southern Syria is to extend the authority of the state and end the presence of weapons outside the framework of official institutions,” the ministry added.
The rocket attack marked the first such incident from Syria into Israeli territory since the ousting of longtime President Bashar Assad in December. Syria’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously led the Islamist faction credited with orchestrating the offensive that led to Assad’s downfall.