In sharp contrast to Israel's committed secrecy regarding military operations, an official from the Israeli government contacted the New York Times on Wednesday to warn of another possible strike on Syria.
The official, who was "briefed by high-level officials on the Syria situation in the past two days," said that Israel is "considering further military strikes on Syria to stop the transfer of advanced weapons to Islamic militants."
From The Times:
“The transfer of such weapons to Hezbollah will destabilize and endanger the entire region. If Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist proxies,” the official said, “he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate.”
Mark Lander of the Times notes that the "precise motives for Israel’s warning were uncertain."
Israel still hasn't officially taken credit for previous airstrikes — which include one in January that targeted a major military research facility outside of Damascus and two earlier this month targeting a warehouse near Damascus International Airport and the Syrian military's fortress on Qasioun Mountain.
Following the most recent strikes, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told Agence-France Press that Syria "will respond immediately and harshly to any additional attack by Israel."
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was quoted saying that he would turn the Golan Heights — the contested land between Syria and Israel — into a "resistance front."
Today the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported that Iran has persuaded Assad to allow Lebanese militant group Hezbollah — currently reinforcing Assad in Syria — to open another front against Israel in Golan.
The Israeli military largely expected this outcome, as the leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nassrallah said just last week that Syria will supply them with "game changing weapons"— notably, exactly what Israel was trying to prevent.
The unnamed official noted to the Times that “Israel will continue its policy of interdicting attempts to strengthen Hezbollah, but will not intercede in the Syrian civil war as long as Assad desists from direct or indirect attacks against Israel.”
SEE ALSO: Israel's Huge Airstrike On Damascus Is As Much About Iran As It Is Syria
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