The IDF and IAF targeted several Syrian army positions on Wednesday morning, March 19 which aided and abetted the attack against IDF soldiers on Tuesday according to the official IDF blog. The IDF targeted a Syrian army training facility, military command posts, and artillery batteries, retaliating with artillery fire directed at Syrian military targets.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, March 18, an explosive device was detonated against IDF soldiers underneath their patrol jeep as in the northern Golan Heights. The soldiers had parked their jeep and were outside of the vehicle when the explosion was set off, causing the injury of four soldiers, wounding one of them severely. Before the explosion took place, the IDF identified suspicious movement on the border.
The wounded soldiers were hospitalized in Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
The IDF said that the Syrian targets had enabled the attack on the Israeli jeep on Tuesday. Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, IDF Spokesman stated that “the attack against IDF troops today is an unacceptable escalation of violence from Syria. We will not tolerate this threat against Israeli civilians or troops, we will fulfill our mission, prevent, protect and defend against hostilities from Syria.”
Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon said that Israel viewed Syrian President Bashar Assad responsible for what happens in his country.
“If he [Assad] continues to cooperate with terrorists who seek to harm Israel, he will continue to pay a heavy price that he will regret,” Ya’alon stated on Wednesday.
Israel informed the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) of the incident, which it considers a grave violation. This was the latest in a series of similar incidents that have taken place on Israel’s northern border.
Last Friday, March 14, an explosive device was activated against IDF soldiers patrolling the Israel-Lebanon border, injuring no one. Earlier in the month, on March 5, two Hezbollah-affiliated terrorists were caught attempting to plant an explosive device near the Israel-Syria border in the northern Golan Heights. IDF forces responded immediately to the suspects and hits were identified.