(IsraelNN.com) Israeli TV Channel 1 said Tuesday that the IDF "definitely carried out an attack" against Syria last Thursday. The attack was meaningful, the channel's military affairs reporter said, and was probably carried out against a large and important target that justified taking this kind of extreme action at such a sensitive time in Israeli-Syrian relations.
The target hit was in the Deir Ez-Zour region in eastern Syria, near the Euphrates river.
The attack was carried out by Israel Air Force (IAF) F-15i jets (The 'i' stands for 'Israel') referred to in Hebrew as Ra'am, or 'thunder.' Anti-aircraft fire from the ground was inefficient, Channel 1 said.
"Israeli propaganda"Syria denies a report by CNN that IDF ground troops also participated in the operation. "This is absolutely not true," Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari said.
He claimed the report is Israeli propaganda aimed at conveying the perception that Israel can insert ground troops anywhere it wants. "Israel is seeking military escalation," he said. "We are exerting efforts so that we don't fall into this trap. We are dealing with the matter with utmost keenness, precision and responsibility."
Syria has lodged a complaint with the United Nations about the event but has not asked for a Security Council debate on the matter, and its state-controlled media is downplaying the incident.
CNN reported Tuesday that the Israeli airstrike inside Syria last week may have been targeting weapons that were earmarked for Hizbullah fighters, citing "sources in the region and in the United States."
The sources told CNN that the military operation "may have also involved Israeli ground forces" who directed the air strike which "left a big hole in the desert" in Syria.
Israeli government happy"The Israeli government is very happy with the success of the operation," the sources told CNN. Israeli reporters noted that IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi was smiling from ear to ear at a function held on the evening after the attack and saw this as evidence that the attack had gone well.
Sources in the U.S. government and military said that "they are happy to have Israel carry the message to both Syria and Iran that [Israel] can get in and out and strike when necessary."The 25 F-15is operational in the IAF since 1999 were procured first and foremost for dealing with the Iranian threat. The F-15i's advanced systems include an APG-70 radar with terrain mapping capability which makes it possible to locate targets that are otherwise very hard to find - i.e. missile batteries, tanks and structures - even under complete fog cover, heavy rain or moonless nights.