An Israeli Air Force jet. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Israeli military attacked a Syrian army anti-aircraft battery on Monday, after the battery opened fire on Israeli Air Force reconnaissance planes with a surface-to-air missile over Lebanese airspace.

The Syrian SA5 missile did not hit any of its targets, and all of the Israeli planes reportedly returned safely to their base. The Syrian missile battery — positioned about 30 miles from Damascus — was destroyed after the IDF targeted the unit with four bombs.

“The Syrian regime is responsible for any firing from its territory,” said IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis.

“We see this incident as a clear provocation and we will not allow it,” he said, adding Israel had “no intention of escalating” the situation with Syria.

Manelis also stated the Russian military was notified in real-time as the Israeli strike was launched against the Syrian battery.

The strike occurred shortly before Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Israel Monday to meet with his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, for discussions on security coordination in Syria.

Since becoming actively involved in the Syrian Civil War in 2015, Russia has worked closely with Iran in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Israel, meanwhile, has allegedly conducted several missile strikes targeting Iranian-sponsored weapons convoys heading to the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah through Syria, and has also purportedly launched numerous retaliatory strikes in response to errant fire from Syria landing in Israel.