Report: IAF Strikes Weapons Convoy Along Syria-Lebanon Border

January 30, 2013 9:21 am 0 comments

An IAF fighter jet.

A Western diplomat and multiple security forces headquartered in the Middle East have told Reuters that Israel launched a strike against a target along the Syrian-Lebanon border overnight, amid concerns over chemical weapons movement in and around Syria.

While the Reuters article did not go into detail about the exact composition of the target, the website Al-Monitor reported that sources said Israeli Defense Forces jets had struck an alleged weapons convoy.

The report came as officials in Lebanon reported a heavy presence of Israeli fighter jets in the country’s airspace. A Lebanese army statement says the last planes were spotted at 2 a.m. local time Wednesday. It says four warplanes, which flew in over the southernmost coastal town of Naqoura, flew for several hours over villages in south Lebanon before leaving Lebanese airspace.

It says similar flights by eight other warplanes were conducted Tuesday.

Fears increased both in the region and globally over the past several days as intelligence reports showed Hezbollah’s encroachment on Syria chemical weapons storage facilities. Some reports had it that Hezbollah already obtained some chemical weapons and long range missiles.

In a possible sign of increasing concern Israel moved two Iron Dome defense system to the north of the country over the weekend, though officials claimed the move was “routine.”

In recent days several high level officials in Israel noted that the country must remain alert and take proactive measures against threats in the region.

On Tuesday IAF Chief Amir Eshel told an audience, “We cannot wait for war to break out. We have to invest in developing new (surveillance) resources… especially space, which has become a strategic sphere for us. We can’t wake up when war breaks out – we can’t be ill-prepared.”

On Sunday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The Middle East is not waiting on the results of the elections and it will not stop during the formation of the government. There are many threats here, among the more difficult that I have pointed out and others, and the reality is developing apace. In the east, north and south.”

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