JERUSALEM – The Israeli army yesterday said it had again struck two military bases in central Syria, a day after the European Union’s foreign policy chief warned strikes there and in Lebanon risked escalation.

“A short while ago, the IDF struck military capabilities that remained at the Syrian military bases of Tadmur and T4,” the Israeli military said, referring to bases in Palmyra and another 50 kilometres west of the city.

“The IDF will continue to act in order to remove any threat posed to the citizens of the State of Israel,” it added.

Israel said Friday it struck the same bases after a war monitor first reported the raids.

On Monday during a visit to Jerusalem, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that Israeli strikes on Syria and Lebanon were threatening to worsen the situation.

“Military actions must be proportionate, and Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation,” Kallas said at a joint news conference with Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar.

“We feel that these things are unnecessary because Syria is right now not attacking Israel and that feeds more radicalisation that is also against Israel,” Kallas told journalists.

In Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites since Islamist-led rebels overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December.

Israel says it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of new authorities it considers jihadists. And despite a ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanon — with both sides repeatedly accusing the other of violating the truce.

Israel launched air strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing eight people, in response to rocket fire that hit its territory for the first time since a ceasefire took effect on 27 November.

No party has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.
The Israeli military has also deployed to the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the demilitarisation of southern Syria.

Syria’s foreign ministry has accused Israel of waging a campaign against “the stability of the country”.

When asked about Israel’s stance towards Syria’s new leaders, Kallas said: “Of course our worries are the same. They say the right things, will they do the right things?”
“But we have discussed this in the European Union and amongst all the member states, and our view is that we need a stable Syria,” she added. – Nampa/AFP