By James Mackenzie and Timour Azhari
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) -Israel’s military said it had eliminated a Hezbollah member in Syria who relayed intelligence against Israel in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, while Syrian media reported on Thursday that Israeli airstrikes hit targets in Syria.
Israel, which has carried out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years, has ramped up its raids since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israeli territory, which ignited Israel’s war in Gaza.
Israel has escalated its retaliation for the Hamas attack, sending troops into Lebanon and airstrikes into Iran, Yemen and Syria in the hunt for Iran-backed militants, raising fears of a wider Middle East conflict that could draw in Iran and the United States.
Ground clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, which is also backed by Iran, were spreading along southern Lebanon’s mountainous frontier on Wednesday as the Middle East was on high alert awaiting Israel’s response to an Iranian missile strike last week.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday about potential Israeli retaliation against Iran, in a call both sides described as positive.
The two leaders discussed Israel’s plans in the 30-minute call, and Biden urged Netanyahu to minimise civilian harm in Lebanon, the White House said.
Israel has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, which caused little damage, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising concerns of broader fighting in the oil-producing region.
Biden last week made comments discouraging Israel from striking Iranian oil fields and said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites.
STRIKES IN SYRIA
The Israel Defense Force said on Wednesday it had eliminated Adham Jahout, a member of Hezbollah’s “Golan Terrorist Network” in the area of Quneitra in Syria.
The IDF said Jahout’s role was to relay information from Syrian regime sources to Hezbollah and transmit intelligence gathered on the Syrian front to facilitate operations against Israel in the Golan Heights.
Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the area, a move not recognised by most countries.
Syrian state TV said early on Thursday that Israel had carried out airstrikes targeting an industrial site in the Syrian city of Homs and a military site in the countryside near the city of Hama, causing “some material damage”.
The strikes targeted a car manufacturing plant in Homs and caused a fire, Syrian TV said, citing the director of the industrial site, Amer Khalil.
Explosions were also heard in the Syrian city of Daraa andwere being investigated, state media reported.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had intercepted a drone that approached Israel over the Red Sea but did not cross into Israeli territory, minutes after the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it had targeted Israel’s Eilat with drones.
‘DEADLY, PRECISE, SURPRISING’ RETALIATION
The Biden-Netanyahu discussion was “direct and very productive”, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, while acknowledging the two leaders have disagreements. Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters the two held “a positive call, and we appreciate the support of the U.S.”
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu have been tense over the Israeli leader’s handling of Gaza and Lebanon. The U.S. has tried to prevent hostilities from escalating and has unsuccessfully sought to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
Some analysts say Israel is most likely to respond to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack by targeting Iranian military installations, especially those that produce ballistic missiles like the ones used in the attack. It could also seek to destroy Iranian air defence systems and missile-launching facilities.
In a video carried by Israeli media on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reiterated plans for a lethal strike against Iran. “Our attack will be deadly, precise and above all surprising,” he said.
Although the conflict has intensified, a proposal last month by the U.S. and France for a 21-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah “is still on the table”, the top U.N. official in Lebanon said on Wednesday.
Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon has killed more than 2,100 people, most of them in the last few weeks, and forced 1.2 million from their homes, according to the Lebanese government. Israel says it has no choice but to strike Hezbollah so that tens of thousands of Israelis can return to homes they fled under Hezbollah rocket fire.
The Hamas attack a year ago killed about 1,200 peoplewhile about 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, the Gaza health ministry says. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced and much of the enclave has been laid to waste.
